


What If

by fairylightinthenight



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-09-06
Packaged: 2019-12-25 19:36:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 129,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairylightinthenight/pseuds/fairylightinthenight
Summary: Being soulmates means to have a special bond, one that can be a deep, true love or a pure, strong friendship. Hermione Granger is eleven when she first hears about soulmates. She is fourteen when she falls in love head over heels. And she is fifteen when she discovers who her soulmate is and that heartbreak is awaiting her. Slow, slow burn





	1. An Odd Girl

Hermione Granger had always been an odd girl. She seemed to never fit in with her peers, not in kindergarten and not in school. She had always been a bit too smart and too ambitious, had always loved learning and preferred to read over playing outside with other children. But there were a lot more reasons why the little Granger girl was an odd one, like the neighbours used to say.

Hermione Granger was an odd girl because, for some reason, there were odd things happening around her. When she got mad things would break or fall off the shelves. Children, who scared or bullied her, would have accidents like tripping suddenly or breaking their favourite toy. Of course, it wasn't something the girl did, she couldn't. Most of the times teachers or other grownups were present and could testify that it wasn't something Hermione did. It just happened. But still, it was odd.

And as Hermione grew older, she accepted that she was different from other children and instead of trying to fit in she fled into the world of books, where adventures and magic awaited her. Inside these fantasy realms she felt at home and secretly she always thought that maybe, just maybe, she was born into the wrong world. Maybe one day she would finally find her magical wardrobe or an old wizard would pick her up for a journey. Her parents always took these hopes as the fantasies of a little girl, who just needed some time to find her place in the world.

But the older Hermione got, the weirder the accidents and happenings around her became. And so, no one in the family was really surprised when a small - well, not a tattoo, but something oddly similar - mark appeared on her skin the day she turned eleven.

It was a wonderful, warm September day when Hermione woke up and jumped out of bed, excited for the day and her gifts. She hoped that her parents got her some of the books she had put on her growing want-to-read-list. As she prepared for the day, she discovered the small mark on her stomach. It was right under her navel, but deep enough to be covered up by her underwear. Curious Hermione looked at the black pattern in the mirror. It was just as big as a walnut and showed a closed flower bud surrounded by a few tiny leaves. Hermione instantly fell in love with the beautiful mark but also became quite excited. As a dreamer and reader, she hoped deeply that this was it. Her ticket into a world of adventure and magic. The mark that gave her access to everything she ever dreamed of.

Well, as the following month went by and nothing happened, that hope grew smaller and smaller until it finally vanished. Instead, Hermione had to live with her parents freaking out about the mark and visiting countless dermatologists with her. But no one could give them a logical explanation and after one almost called the police because he thought the Grangers had gotten her underaged daughter a tattoo, Hermione's parents finally gave up. Covering up or hiding the tattoo became their new obsession instead and it worked quite well since the mark was at such a convenient place. Needless to say that Hermione didn't care about all of that and just grew more and more frustrated.

Almost a year went by when in during the summer holidays of 1991 her ticket to magical adventures finally arrived in the form of Minerva McGonagall. The deputy headmistress was in charge of informing muggle-born students and their families while all other children simply got their letter. Hermione was the one who opened the door the day the old witch came by to tell the family about Hogwarts and the magical world.

Minerva McGonagall was reluctantly welcomed into the Granger's house when she explained, that she was sent by a school for, especially gifted children. And while she carefully explained what Hogwarts was and that Hermione, the odd girl, in fact, a witch, Hermione's heart began to race with excitement. She almost jumped up in joy when her parents demanded proof and the old witch turned all the teacups on the table into tiny squirrels. And Hermione almost cried when she opened her letter and found the list of books she had to buy. She was so excited and only one thought constantly flitted through her mind: She had been right. She was different. She wasn't a freak or odd, she was just different. And going to a magical school, where she could learn and discover her powers, well that was the cherry on top. But knowing that nothing was wrong with her, that was certainly the best thing.

The weeks till the school year was about to start went by in a blur for Hermione. After she had visited Diagon Alley with her parents and the headmistress to buy her school supplies, Hermione spent every moment with her new books. McGonagall had suggested Hogwarts: A History to the girl and Hermione found it terribly interesting. She read the book three times before the school year started and all of the other school books at least once. Granted, there were a lot of things she didn't understand, but she was keen on changing that.

And so, with pure excitement rushing through her veins and the biggest smile plastered on her face, the odd girl entered the Hogwarts Express on September First - the mark on her stomach all forgotten - hoping for her new life to be as wonderful and magical as she always hoped for.


	2. Chapter 2

September first was a wonderful warm autumn day with a clear sky and Hermione felt like she was floating on cloud nine as she bid her parents goodbye and entered the red _Hogwarts Express_. It was like the beginning of a magical adventure journey in one of her books - except for the countless other children who were running through the train. With a big smile plastered on her face, Hermione started to search for a compartment. She wanted to sit with someone her age preferably and try to make friends from the beginning. Now that she wasn't the _odd one_ anymore and around children like herself, she felt that it should be easier to finally make friends.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" Hermione entered a small compartment where only a boy with a round face and blond hair sat alone. He looked up with a bright smile and nodded.

"Please, sit down." Hermione took the seat opposite from the boy.

"My name is Hermione Granger." She offered him her hand and he took it shyly.

"Neville Longbottom." He blushed a bit and Hermione got the impression that Neville wasn't a confident boy.

"Nice to meet you." Hermione smiled and then proceeded to make herself comfortable. She offered some of her sugar-free snacks to Neville and in return got some of his sweets.

"That's fascinating," she was stunned when the chocolate frog jumped out of his box into her hand. "How does that work?"

"Magic," Neville shrugged and took a bite of the sugar-free gummy bears Hermione's parents always had at their dentistry.

"So, you're muggle-born?" He asked after he gave her the gummy bears back with a distinct grimace of not liking the taste. Hermione almost laughed at that. She herself didn't like the taste either but it was the only sweets her parents allowed her.

"Yeah, and you are not?" She asked excitedly. By reading _Hogwarts - A History_ Hermione had discovered that there was an entire magical culture she knew nothing about and that there were children who grew up with magic like it was the most normal thing in the world. For Hermione, all of that was terribly interesting and she started to bombard Neville with questions about his family and childhood. But to her disappointment, the plumb boy wasn't very keen on chatting about it. Nonetheless, they spend most of the train ride by talking about Hogwarts and the magical world. Neville told Hermione about the day he had had his first incident of accidental magic and she told him about her time as _the odd girl_ because of her magical outbursts.

Suddenly the door opened and a boy with flaming red hair, glasses and an important look on his face peered inside.

"First years?" Neville and Hermione nodded surprised. "We're almost at the train station. Get dressed and leave your luggage on the train." And with one last glance, the boy vanished again. Hermione shook her head at his attitude but grabbed her school uniform and went to the girl's bathroom. She liked her new uniform. It was practical and the fabric felt quite nice. It also saved her the time and stress to think about her clothes every day. Plus, Hermione had no idea what witches in the magical culture normally wore, so she felt slightly unprepared. The school uniform made that easier.

"Oh no no no..." Neville was kneeling on the floor when she came back, his head halfway under the seat.

"What's wrong?"

"I lost Trevor," Neville whined, his face a desperate shade of white. "My toad. My uncle Algie gave him to me as a gift when I got my Hogwarts letter." Frantically Neville crawled through the compartment.

"Maybe he is somewhere outside or in another compartment," Hermione suggested carefully. This was the first time she heard about the toad and wasn't sure if they would find it at this point. God knew how far the toad had made it in the last hours. But Neville's pale face and worried, tear-filled eyes prevented her from saying anything.

"Don't worry, I will help you search. You go in that direction and I'm taking the other." She helped the desperate boy up and both started their search. Hermione opened compartment after compartment and asked politely if anyone had seen a toad. But when she reached the end of the train she almost lost hope. No one had seen the toad and most of the students hadn't been really helpful either.

But when she opened the last compartment her mood instantly became better. Two boys her age were sitting there. One of them had ginger hair and a rat in one hand, his wand in the other.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." Hermione sat down excited. This was the first time since the visit from Professor McGonagall that she was able to see real magic. Hermione, of course, understood why the _no magic outside Hogwarts_ -rule was important but it really annoyed her nonetheless. Every single night since she had found out she was a witch, she had dreamed of finally being able to do magic herself.

Unfortunately, her expectations weren't fulfilled when the ginger boy failed to turn his rat yellow. Instead, Hermione took the chance to practice some magic on the other boy and was successful. Quite pleased with herself she offered both of them her hand and introduced herself.

When Hermione left the compartment later to get back to Neville, she found that the two boys had been rather odd. Ron Weasley, the redhead with the rat, had been quite annoying with his eye rolling and Harry Potter... well he seemed nice but Hermione got the feeling that both of them didn't like her much. Probably because of her straightforward way. She knew that some people were quickly annoyed with that but ultimately Hermione wouldn't change who she was.

As she strolled along the train she watched the other students and the little magic tricks, spells and toys they were playing with. Everyone seemed to be familiar with these magical things and Hermione felt kind of out of place. Hopefully next year she would be equally familiar with magic and have real friends to spend the ride with. She was so deep in thought that she didn't see the group of older students in the hallway and so she walked right into one of them. Stumbling Hermione landed ungracefully on her butt.

"Woah, everything okay, shorty?" The older boy looked down on her with an amused smile on his face. He had red hair and Hermione wondered shortly why there were so many red-haired boys on this train. Beside him, with an equally amused smirk, stood an identical copy of the boy.

"Did I hit my head? I think I'm seeing double." Hermione asked confused but the older students around her just broke out in roaring laughter.

"That one never gets old," one of the two boys grinned and offered her his hand, helping her up. Puzzled Hermione got up and inspected the boys for a moment till it clicked. Twins, _identical_ twins! And apparently the two did everything to look even more alike. They had their hair styled the same way, wore the same clothes and even their facial expressions and gestures were identical.

"Thank you," Hermione replied. "Has anyone of you maybe seen a toad? A boy named Neville lost one and I'm helping him search." The whole group shook their heads.

"Nah, Neville himself has been in our compartment half an hour ago or so but we haven't seen the toad till now." A tall girl with dark skin, perfect teeth and a warm smile answered.

"Oh, too bad, but well... thank you," Hermione politely squeezed herself past the older students. She heard them laugh faintly behind her but ignored it. She was very glad when she finally met Neville again who was near tears because of Trevor. It took her almost the rest of the train ride to calm him down.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

When Trevor finally appeared in one of the boats Neville was overjoyed and Hermione let out a deep, relieved sigh. She had feared that she would spend the first week at Hogwarts with consoling the blonde boy about his lost pet. But their happiness about the toad was short lived when Professor McGonagall announced the sorting ceremony. Hermione had no idea what she had to do and felt awfully unprepared. And she hated to be unprepared. It made her feel lost and nervous. Hermione didn't like new and unknown situation very much.

When it was her turn to go on stage and take the hat Hermione tried to look confident and calm. But deep inside, she feared for the worst. What if she failed? Would they send her home?

 _Well, well, well. What do we have here?_ A voice rang through her head and Hermione almost jumped up.

 _No need to worry,_ the hat chuckled. _So, where do I sort you? I see a thirst for knowledge. The urge to learn and quite a big amount of curiosity. Ravenclaw would be a good fit._ Hermione smiled to herself. Ravenclaw also seemed like the best choice for her.

 _But I also see dreams of big adventures. Curiosity not only to learn but also to discover new things. A strive for great deeds._ The hat snickered in amusement.

"Gryffindor!" It yelled a second later and with a little jump Hermione got up and went to the roaring table. She sat down beside Lavender Brown and Seamus Finnigan, the other two first years that had already been sorted into her new house. On the other side of them, she saw the ginger with the glasses who introduced himself eagerly as Percy Weasley, freshly announced Gryffindor prefect.

"Oh, is Ron your brother? I met him on the train."

"My deepest sympathy for that. First Ronnikins and now Percy, not the best selection of Weasleys you got there" One of the red-haired twins chimed in from the side, while he clapped Percy on the back. The older boy glared at him.

"But thankfully you also met us, the most splendid specimen." The other twin leaned in.

"Fred! George!" Percy hissed and glared at the two. Hermione blinked at them and then she saw it. The similarities between the three of them and Ron was striking. For her, as an only child, it was quite fascinating to see siblings in action. And the three Weasley brothers in front of her were hilarious as they grimaced and bickered with each other.

"So, who is Fred and who is George?" Hermione asked and instantly the twins focused on her. Both with a fat smirk on their faces.

"So, little Miss Granger wants to know who is who?"

"Wants to call us by the right names, doesn't she?"

"Well, then let's see if she's able to." Confused Hermione turned from one twin to the other as they spoke but then suddenly the whole hall went silent as Professor McGonagall called for Harry Potter. The twins seemed to forget about Hermione within a second and instead applauded loudly when Harry was sorted into Gryffindor. The rest of the sorting went by smoothly and ended with another loud applause from Percy and the twins when Ron made it into Gryffindor.

Hermione enjoyed the feast and her first evening in Hogwarts immensely. The food was excellent, most of the students were quite nice and there were so many wonders and magic to discover that Hermione was almost too fussy to sleep.

"Oh wow, Hermione that is a beautiful soul mark." Lavender gushed as Hermione slipped into her pyjamas that evening. Surprised Hermione looked down on her stomach. He had completely forgotten about the small mark. To her surprise, it had changed his form. The little flower bud had opened and was now in full bloom. It looked like a rose.

"A soul mark?" Hermione asked curiously. She hadn't thought much about the mark in the last months. Since nothing had happened after she had gained it, it had become uninteresting to her.

"Of course, don't you know about them?" Lavender rolled up the sleeve of her right arm. There was a small mark similar to Hermione's, but still completely unique. It showed a small candle with a bright red flame.

"Lavender," Parvati scolded from the bed. "Hermione is muggle-born, of course, she doesn't know. Come here, we can explain it." The dark-haired girl patted on her mattress and timidly Hermione sat down. It was new for her to be involved with girls her age and deep inside she was a bit excited.

"See, every witch and wizard has a soulmate. A person who is your other half, who completes you. And the soul marks are the physical connection. It's a way to find your soulmate. When a witch or a wizard turns eleven the mark appears on their skin. And when you first touch your soulmate, then it changes its form."

"Oh, it really did change. Till today my mark was a flower bud, but now it is blooming." Parvati and Lavender both squealed.

"Oh," Lavender sighed, "that means you met your soulmate today. That's so exciting." The blonde girl jumped up and down. "Do you have any idea who it can be?"

"God, no. I met dozens of people today when I searched the train for Neville's toad Trevor." Hermione thought about her search through the train. She had talked to half the school and even collided with a few students. She had touched enough people to have a gigantic choice of possible soulmates. Parvati and Lavender both looked a bit disappointed, so Hermione quickly tried to change the topic.

"So, is there a reason why yours has colour?" She nodded at Lavender, who still showed her burning candle mark.

"There is," Parvati smiled while she lifted her own pyjama top. On her stomach was a small candle with a bright red flame.

"You two are soulmates?" Now Hermione really was curious. She only knew the concept of soulmates from the muggle world where it meant to have found the love of one's life. Hermione's parents often referred to each other as soulmates.

"Yeah, we discovered it when we met at Diagon Alley during the summer. Lavender wore a sleeveless top and I accidentally bumped into her at Ollivander's. I saw how her mark changed his shape and I just knew it. It was quite exciting." Parvati explained with a fond smile. "Before we met, it was just a candle. Then the colourless flame appeared, when we accidentally touched, and lastly the red colour."

"So, what exactly triggers the colour?"

"I'm not sure, in our case both changed happened at the same time. Maybe the colour appears as soon as you recognise each other as soulmates." Lavender shrugged. She and Parvati proceeded to tell Hermione about their relationship as soulmates. How they instantly became the best friends and couldn't even imagine life without each other anymore. Hermione listened curiously but was quite sceptical about this whole soulmate concept. She had to read into that sometime, but as she went to bed she had already forgotten about it. The prospect of learning magic was more exciting than having a soulmate.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The first two weeks in Hogwarts went by in a blur for Hermione. She had so much to do with keeping up on her studies and trying to find her way in the old castle, that she almost forgot about her own birthday. So, when the owl from her parents with the birthday card and a small gift box arrived at breakfast that morning Hermione was surprised for a moment. Then she realised that no one of her classmates knew that it was her birthday. She was probably the oldest in her year and it felt odd to tell other people about it. So, Hermione kept quiet and enjoyed the day with unpacking her gift alone in her dorm room.

The next few weeks went by in a similar manner and slowly Hermione became more and more frustrated. When she had imagined her life at Hogwarts she had always thought that her peers would be equally excited about learning magic as she was. She had imagined that she would brew potions with her fellow witches and talk with them about spells. But her fellow witches were nothing like that.

Lavender and Parvati always seemed to be in their own little world and slowly Hermione got the feeling that them being soulmates meant, that she had no place in this friendship. Her two roommates just were too close with each other. They were by no means excluding her on purpose, but their little insider jokes and the way they understood each other without even saying a word, well that did nothing to include Hermione. So, she tried to befriend the boys in their house.

While Neville was still as friendly as on the train ride, he was also always nervous around Hermione. She got the impression that her ambition, knowledge and talent made Neville a bit uncomfortable. The same seemed true for Harry and Ron. Hermione was more than aware of the annoyed gazes and eye rolls of the two boys. Plus, the two had already proven themselves to be troublemakers with their little nightly adventure to duel Draco Malfoy. After that incident and the discovery of the three-headed dog on the third floor, Hermione had decided to ignore them. No matter how lonely she felt at Hogwarts, she still wanted to learn magic and getting expelled was the worst thing she could imagine. No way in hell would she let herself be sent back to the muggle world. That left only Seamus, who was a bit too loud and explosive for her taste, and Dean, the only other muggle-born. With Dean, Hermione got along okay, but she couldn't really call him a friend.

Befriending students from the other houses was even harder. The Slytherins were no choice given the rivalry between the houses, the Hufflepuffs were nice but kept to themselves and the Ravenclaws seemed even more antisocial than Hermione.

So, Hermione had to admit that she slowly became an outsider. The other students obviously didn't like her intelligence and hardworking personality and Hermione was aware of the whispering behind her back. But she couldn't change who she was. She loved the classes and desperately wanted to do her best. She wanted to learn and show off her skills.

Still, the loneliness was getting to her as the weeks went by and sometime around the end of October, she remembered the soul mark again. Oh, how she wished for a soulmate! A best friend, a companion and ally, who she could confide in. Someone who was always there for her, like Lavender and Parvati were for each other. But unfortunately, the school was big and asking people to show their soul marks was considered impolite. But Hermione almost desperately wished to meet her soulmate and even considered taking time off her studies in order to research about the soul mark. Maybe there was a way to find your soulmate on purpose instead of waiting for coincidence.

It was with that wish in mind that Hermione spent Halloween crying at the girl's bathroom. Ron Weasley was a terrible person! And still, his words had hit right at the sore spot of Hermione's lonely life at Hogwarts. He was right. She didn't have any friends and would probably never have some. She had been the odd girl at her muggle school and now it was still the same. Nothing had changed. She had so desperately hoped to fit in but it was pointless. Magic or no magic, Hermione Granger was an odd girl. A soulmate who was guaranteed to be your best friends almost seemed too good to be true to her.

Snivelling Hermione finally made her way out of the small cabin sometime around dinner time when she became hungry. She didn't really want to go to the great hall but her growling stomach took the decision off her. Well, she had to meet Ron sooner or later. At least during dinner, she could hide between the older students. But her plans were ultimately ruined when she opened the door of the cabin and looked at a gigantic, ugly troll.


	3. Chapter 3

Fighting and defeating a troll together certainly did wonders to improve a friendship, Hermione discovered. It didn't happen overnight but rather developed over the following weeks, but nonetheless, after Halloween, she had some kind of understanding with Harry and Ron. The boys started to wait for her when they went to classes and naturally sat beside her. They took their meals together and did homework together. And the more time they spent with each other, the more they got to know about each other.

Hermione discovered that Ron had two more brothers and a younger sister and that he was a formidable chess player. With Harry, she could bond over showing him _Quidditch Through the Ages_ and their mutual dislike of Professor Snape, even when Hermione tried hard to be respectful. Harry, she also learned, was indeed a troublemaker but not entirely on purpose. And unfortunately, this seemed to be conterminous.

Being friends with Ron and Harry taught Hermione that there really was an adventurous and brave side in her like the sorting hat had mentioned. It started with her setting Professor Snape on fire in order to save Harry. And Hermione had to admit that the mystery about the three-headed-dog and the limping of Professor Snape had caught her interest and she was eager to help Harry with the investigation. The information about Nicolas Flamel was therefore only another motivation and she loved how it gave her the possibility to research and at the same time strengthen her friendship with the boys. So, her adventurous side was in full bloom.

Hermione was also able to let loose a bit since befriending Harry and Ron and even caught herself laughing about poor Professor Quirrell, who was chased by cursed snowballs. It was a hilarious sight as the snowballs hit his head and turban again and again, and Hermine had to try really hard not to show her amusement. She was standing at a window and watched the still moving snowballs, who were now chasing some Slytherin first years - one of them Draco Malfoy - when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Aww, look how hard she tries not to laugh." One of the twins stepped out of some corner, which puzzled Hermione immensely because there was no door or corridor that way. But the Weasley twins had a talent for showing up at unusual places.

"A shame, really." The second twin rounded the corner.

"Must be painful to keep a straight face." They both smirked down at Hermione, while she frowned at them. She still hadn't found out which one was Fred and which George was. Since she had befriended Ron, she had talked a few times with them at dinner or in the common room. She had asked them again about their names and since then the twins thought it was a hilarious prank to just not tell her. It went so far that they even denied being called by their right names when she was around. They always pretended to both be George or Fred. And unfortunately, they were good at that game.

"Where are you coming from?" Hermione suspiciously eyed the solid wall. Maybe there actually were some hidden shortcuts or something in the castle? In her fantasy novels, there were always hidden rooms and corridors in such old buildings.

"As curious as ever-"

"-the little Miss Granger." The twins laughed and strolled off to the general direction of Gryffindor tower. With an annoyed eye roll, Hermione set off in the opposite direction to the library.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The Christmas holidays were wonderful and strange at the same time for Hermione. On one hand, she was happy to see her family again, and not only her parents but also her grandparents and her aunt. She hadn't seen them for months and it was good to be home. And it was quite nice to be able to tell them that she had friends now and wasn't so odd anymore. Of course, only her parents knew about magic and what kind of school Hogwarts was, the rest of the family thought she went to a school for gifted children, which wasn't exactly a lie.

On the other hand, that was the main problem. It was hard for Hermione to tell them stories about her school life and her friends since she wasn't allowed to mention magic. And even when it was just her and her parents it still was complicated. As intelligent and open her parents were, they still were muggles and most of Hermione's stories about her lessons were just not comprehensible for them. And when Hermione tried to explain Quidditch to them - or at least the part she had understood of the complicated game - they were absolutely lost and aghast that the school let children play such a dangerous game up _on brooms_. After that Hermione decided to not tell them about her little adventure with a gigantic troll.

So, when it was time to go back to Hogwarts it was a bittersweet goodbye and Hermione felt bad that she was actually happy to go. But the magical world and all her wonders were calling for her - loudly - and she was eager to start investigating and researching about Nicolas Flamel again.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione's troublemaking career certainly reached its peak when she helped Harry to smuggle Hagrid's pet dragon into the castle and onto the tallest tower. Never ever had she thought at the beginning of the year that she would do something like that. But the hat had been right. There was a part inside of her which wanted - needed - those kinds of adventure. Getting caught by Professor McGonagall, who was visibly disappointed with Hermione, and getting detention was still a big shock for her and her logical, swotty bookworm side was yelling for her to stop this madness. And after the experience of detention in the forbidden forest she vowed to never get into this kind of trouble again.

Well, her determination, unfortunately, went flying through the window when Harry needed help to stop Professor Snape from stealing the philosopher's stone. By the time they discovered that Hagrid had spilt the beans about Fluffy - still, such a ridiculous name - Hermione too had been convinced that the stone was in danger of being stolen and that Snape probably was the thief. And even if she hadn't, letting Harry go alone was out of the question. So, the odd one once again became a troublemaker. All in all, Hermione was quite proud of herself after this night. They had saved the stone - even if it hadn't been Snape.

But one thing she regretted immensely was that she hexed Neville. The poor boy had only tried to help their house and keep them out of trouble and in some way had been more courageous than ever before in his life. So, Hermione was quite pleased when not only Harry, Ron and she were awarded house points, but also Neville. Nonetheless, she apologised to him countless times until the nervous boy finally snapped and told her to quit it because he had never been angry, not really.

The highlight of the year was, of course, the celebration party at Gryffindor tower for winning the house cup. The Weasley twins had outdone themselves with smuggling sweets, food from the kitchens and firework into the common room. A few of the older students were even drinking something that looked suspiciously like beer to Hermione, but she kept quiet and enjoyed the night.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

With a sinking feeling in her stomach Hermione opened every compartment in the train, politely asked the students inside if someone had seen Harry Potter - normally everyone always knew where Harry was - and then went on with her search. Really, why was it that she spent every train ride with searching something - toads, best friends, who knew what it would be next time? But the fact that she couldn't find Harry and Ron was disturbing.

"Hermione," someone called after her. She turned and saw Neville running towards her with a big smile.

"Do you already have a compartment? You can sit with Dean, Seamus and me. I think Lavender and Parvati will join us later too, they're still with Parvati's twin sister." Neville offered and with a defeated sigh Hermione nodded. Wherever Harry and Ron were, they obviously didn't want to be found by her. With a nagging feeling of being excluded and rejected by her two best friends, she followed Neville. She felt insecure and vulnerable, similar to the time back in the first year when Ron had said those awful things about her. Well, at least the other Gryffindors were happy to see her and spent time with her.

During the summer holidays, she had met the Weasleys and Harry at Diagon Alley and everything had been fine. Well, besides the fact that Ron, Fred and George had freed Harry from his home with a flying car - something Hermione still wanted to scold them for - and that Harry had been lost in the floo system. But their friendship had been fine.

As they passed one of the compartments Hermione heard a loud bang followed by a few shrieks and maniac laughter that sounded awfully familiar. Curiously she opened the door. The compartment was brimming full with Fred, George and their classmates. The twins sat together on one side with Angelina Johnson between them. Opposite of the twins was Lee Jordan - his big tarantula casually on the shoulder despite Professor McGonagall's lecture last year about allowed pets. Next to him were Alicia Spinnet and a fourth year Ravenclaw girl. The girls all frowned at the boys, who were playing with some small firecrackers. The twins threw the burning fireworks between them like a ball and counted how many tosses they managed before the cracker exploded. Another bang sounded through the compartment when it went off right in front of Angelina Johnson's face.

"You gits!" Angelina hissed and from one second to the other, all three boys straightened themselves. Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise at that. Never ever had she seen the twins react that way. Lee Jordan she understood since it was widely known that he was in love with Angelina. But the twins? Very strange.

"Excuse me," Hermione politely knocked at the open door. All heads turned in surprise.

"Fred, George, have you seen Ron and Harry? I can't find them." She observed the twins closely as she spoke their names in hope that they would twitch or blink or react in some way. Hermione was still determined to look through their little game of confusing her.

"Not since we crossed the barrier at the station. We were pretty late today-"One twin started and the other took over.

"-Maybe they are still searching for a compartment?" Hermione let out another frustrated sigh and then joined Neville and the other Gryffindor boys in their compartment.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione was freaking out. The sorting was half-way through and Harry and Ron still hadn't shown up. Now she was convinced that this was not about them avoiding her anymore but about something else. Where were they? Had something happened? Were they lost or injured or… Hermione forced herself not to finish that thought and searched the Gryffindor table again. The outcome was the same. The two were missing.

A bit sad Hermione watched how Ginny Weasley was the last of her year to be sorted and of course, the redhead made it into Gryffindor. A few seats away from Hermione the twins broke out into loud applause and wolf whistles as their little sister sat down and even Percy grinned wider and cheered louder than ever.

The revelation came when Hermione entered the common room and saw Harry and Ron sitting there, enjoying sandwiches and pumpkin juice, laughing about something. Her heart clenched painfully as she saw them, happy and in good health, and she felt incredibly uncomfortable. Should she just go ahead to bed or greet them?

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron both jumped up and ran towards her.

"You have no idea what happened." Harry grinned madly.

"We missed the train and drove here in my dad's car." Ron jumped up and down excited. Eager like little children on Christmas Eve both boys pulled Hermione to the sofa and started to tell their story while they munched on their sandwiches. Sometime during the tale, the twins and Ginny sat down with them. Fred and George sat down on top of the backrest, which forced Hermione, and Ginny beside her, to lean against their legs, while Harry was on the armchair and Ron on the floor. In between the twins whistled or nodded in approval while Ginny was quiet as a mouse and stared at Harry in wonder.

"Mum will kill you, Ronnikins." One twin chuckled behind Hermione.

"Yeah, in one night you made more trouble than we have in the last four years." The other twin shook his head like he couldn't believe that their little brother was able to pull off something like flying a car to Hogwarts and crashing it into the Whoomphing Willow.

"Well, I haven't thought about it that way," Ron muttered gloomily. The bickering between the brothers went on for quite a while but Hermione and Harry both decided to ignore it. Instead, they talked about their holidays. Harry was gushing about the Burrow and Mrs Weasley's cooking while Hermione told him about her summer in France. Later they realised that Ginny had left the group without saying anything. When the twins went up to bed, claiming that they needed sleep in order to plan mischief and trouble that would equal Ron's and Harry's, Hermione took her chance.

"Fred!" She called as the two tall redheads were almost on the stairs. But to her disappointment both twins turned at the exact same moment, giving her no chance to recognise which one was the real Fred.

"Nice try, little Miss Granger," they both chirped and left roaring with laughter.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione had to admit that Mrs Weasley's howler had been quite a satisfaction. Especially since Ron had been so nosy at breakfast and had discovered her course plan. So, she admired Professor Lockhart, what was the big deal with that? He was brilliant. A legend. His books, his tales, his great adventures. He was the perfect mixture of brave and intelligent and Hermione strived to be like him. He was a role model! And of course, it had nothing to do with his really nice and deep blue eyes… Naturally, Hermione was looking forward to his classes the most.

The rest of the week went by in a blur for her. The first class of _Defence Against the Dark Arts_ had been… different from her expectations but still, Lockhart was a genius. His books proofed it. All other classes were the same as ever and Hermione was instantly back in her normal study mode, working hard and ahead of course.

In short, it was a normal week and Hermione couldn't have been happier. This school year started so much better than the last. But then Draco Malfoy decided to ruin her day.

"No one asked your opinion, you filthy mudblood." The boy yelled at her with an angry grimace, mad about her remark about his lacking talent. Hermione was especially proud of that but confused by the obvious insult. And then many things happened at once.

All Gryffindors - expect for Harry, who looked equally confused - started to yell at Malfoy, Alicia Spinnet being the loudest one. The twins tried to jump at Malfoy but were stopped by Flint. With wide eyes, Hermione watched how the normally friendly and joking twins went violent in seconds. She didn't know which one it was, but one of them almost made it around Flint, but then Ron tried to hex the smirking, blond git Malfoy, only to be hit by his own spell.

The following afternoon was a mess, literally and emotionally. Literally, because Ron spent hours vomiting slugs. Emotionally because Hermione heard for the first time that there were people who thought she wasn't good enough for the magical world. That was a whole new concept for her. Till now, despite all her struggle at the beginning of the first year, she had been firm in her belief that she belonged to this world. She was born with magic! For Merlin's sake, she was on top of her year! Even Draco Malfoy, the arrogant git, with his pureblood family wasn't better than her in classes.

Hagrid and Ron, and later Harry, all tried to reassure her that Malfoy was a terrible person and that most people were no longer thinking like that. But still, it hurt her in some way. And the following weeks she spent an awful lot of time observing her classmates. Was one of them looking down on her, sneering at her, and she hadn't noticed till now? Maybe their dislike had nothing to do with her straightforwardness and good grades like she had believed last year. She tried not to show it in front of Harry and Ron but knowing about the prejudice against muggle-born made her more insecure that she liked to admit.

And then came Halloween. After the last year, Hermione had hoped to enjoy the feast properly, but the death party of a ghost did sound interesting. As a curious person, she was of course on board and willing to accompany Harry. Her curiosity was quickly blown away by the morbid and cold atmosphere at the party. That wasn't what she had expected and it certainly didn't help to lighten her mood. So, she was glad when they finally could leave.

She was glad for about five minutes, then Harry started to hear voices and they discovered the petrified body of Mrs Norris.

"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, mudbloods!" Draco Malfoy yelled and it sounded through Hermione's head four hours and hours afterwards.


	4. Planning A Prank

After Halloween and the incident with the _chamber of secrets_ scribbling on the wall, Hermione had two projects she was constantly working on.

One was, of course, the mystery about the chamber itself. After the petrification of Mrs Norris and Filch's constant reminders of what had happened the whole school was on edge. Everyone seemed to constantly whisper about it and rumours and theories spread like wildfire. But no one seemed to know any actual facts. A situation Hermione wanted to change personally.

She started, of course, at the library, her favourite place for researching any question about the magical world. For weeks she tried to hunt down books about the chamber. She tried every possible book about secret rooms, magical heirs and the history of Hogwarts. Nothing about it made sense to her. She even started to research the word _Mudblood_ but stopped it quickly when she learned how awful some people thought about witches and wizards like her. Honestly, she didn't want to know about that too much.

Hermione became slowly frustrated when she discovered that most of the useful books were already borrowed. Of course, _now_ half of the students at Hogwarts had remembered that there was a library and how to use it. Even _Hogwarts - A History_ , of which the school owned several copies, was not available to her. Hermione found it almost offensive that now everyone discovered a curiosity for history, but still, most of her classmates slept at Professor Binn's classes…

 _Well, that was an idea_ , Hermione thought mid ranting to herself. And so, she asked the ghost teacher, who offered some information and first clues, but nothing to work with. But at least Hermione had a new direction for her research:

_SALAZAR SLYTHERIN_

She wrote the name down into her brand-new research journal and scribbled down questions and ideas. As she did with every other clue. The water in front of the _crime scene_ , the strange behaviour of the spiders in the castle and the scorch marks on the floor. She wasn't sure if anything of that would be helpful in the end, but for now, she was just collecting. And she started again with the research about blood supremacy. And she quickly learned that she had to get used to these old ideologies.

Ron's fear of spiders was another information she collected, but for her other project. The second project that kept her busy was the twins and their names. And therefore, Hermione collected as much information on them as possible.

In the last weeks, Hermione had watched the Weasley twins very closely. At every meal, she tried to sit as near as possible. In the evening at the common room, she always studied close to them. She was absolutely sure that the twins were aware of that as they hadn't betrayed themselves so far. Hermione was almost impressed by their ability to stay in their role but her annoyance and determination won in the end. She had to find out the truth even if it was the last thing she would be doing. No one outsmarted Hermione Granger like that.

But her constant surveillance of the twins had one benefit. By now she was absolutely sure she could tell the twins apart without a fail. One of them - twin one, as Hermione called him - was always a bit louder, bolder and more straightforward, while the other one - twin two - followed the lead and supported his twin. Their voices and the way they spoke were also a bit different. Twin one had a slightly deeper voice, while twin two pronounced some words in a very distinct way. Physically the twins were also not exactly identical. Yes, it was terribly difficult to tell them apart and most times Hermione needed to watch them for a while before she could do it, but when she had enough time to observe them it worked. Twin two was the one with the warm, gentle smile and twin one, on the other hand, was the one with the lopsided grin and the cheeky twinkle in his eyes. Both made the girls in Hermione's year swoon over them, but none of them could tell them apart.

Hermione was fairly sure that the twins' friends like Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson could tell them apart, plus Ginny seemed pretty good at it. Hermione was sure she could them apart as well, she just couldn't name them. She had to blow their cover. She needed them to lose their poise. And she was certain there was only one way to do that. She had to prank them.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

When Professor Snape had told them about the Polyjuice potion for the first time in potions class it had immediately caught Hermione's interest. And the more she thought about it, the more she found it was an excellent way to reach one of her goals.

Pranking the twins had to be a masterpiece. Her prank needed to be something special, something even the twins wouldn't think about, and it would have to be perfect. And what would be better than pretending to be one of the twins thanks to a bit of Polyjuice Potion?

Hermione had it all planned out in her head. She needed a little distraction to separate the twins, then she would turn into one of them with the potion. Looking like one of the twins she would search the other one and then he would certainly betray his facade. Because really, they would refer to each other by their real names, right? Plan B was to turn into Lee Jordan if she couldn't separate the twins. In front of their best friend, they were bound to let their guard down.

But the plan, of course, had some weak points. First Hermione needed the potion recipe, but since it was in the restricted section of the library that wasn't so easy. Hermione briefly entertained the thought of asking Harry for his invisibility cloak but the bigger part of her mind convinced her that breaking the rules in order to prank the twins wasn't worth it. Not to forget that brewing the potion itself was highly illegal.

Hermione had almost forgotten about her little prank masterplan when the idea came back to her suddenly while talking with Harry and Ron. Of course, they could use the potion also to get information from Malfoy. It was the same principle as her prank. Pretend to be someone who the target trusted in order to get your information. It was quite ruthless, Hermione reflected internally, but catching the heir of Slytherin was worth it to break rules. And maybe she could save some of the potion for her prank...

And Harry's plan to ask Lockhart for the signature, well that made the whole thing even better. He had called her his best student and he trusted her enough to sign the paper for her. Lockhart really was a brilliant wizard. And everyone made small mistakes, like Harry's arm after the Quidditch match...

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The petrification of Colin Creevey and the information that the chamber had been opened before, of course, made it into Hermione's notebook quickly. But it also made the threat of the Heir of Slytherin even more real.

For several nights Hermione had nightmares and woke up covered in sweat in the middle of the night. Hermione couldn't really say why she took it so bad. She wasn't an anxious person. But like most other Muggle-born at Hogwarts, she had come to the conclusion that she wasn't completely safe here anymore. But while others became nervous and frightened Hermione became determined. She became even more fixated on her goal to pry the truth out of Draco Malfoy and the upcoming Christmas holidays were the perfect opportunity for that. Even when she was haunted by nightmares, during the day she always tried to show a brave face and a strong will. She was a Gryffindor. She was brave!

With that thought in mind, Hermione worked on her plan to get all the necessary ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion. Stealing it from Snape really was the only option and Hermione found the end justified the means. Even when - deep, deep inside - she was a bit reluctant to break the school rules - again!

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

A parslemouth! Harry was actually able to speak with snakes. As soon as Hermione had seen him hissing at the snake her mind had made the connection to Salazar Slytherin, the most famous parslemouth of all times. During all her research about the Hogwarts founder she had learned impressive and frightening things about the founder of House Slytherin, but his ability to speak with snakes was probably the most important one.

And Hermione wasn't the only one who made that connection. Half of the school seemed terrified of Harry now and Justin, the Hufflepuff boy who had been targeted by the snake, was actually avoiding Harry.

Hermione was playing a game of wizarding chess against Ron - and losing again, so she was already annoyed - when she sent Harry off to talk with Justin. Hopefully, they could talk it out and this nonsense would stop.

"You know, this thing with the parseltongue really isn't good," Ron muttered while he stared at the chessboard, probably planning five steps ahead.

"No, it isn't, but it doesn't mean a thing. Harry wouldn't hurt anyone." Hermione said and commanded her queen to slaughter one of Ron's knights.

"Of course!" Ron blushed. "I know that. But people will talk about it. No one else will believe it. Think we can do anything to help him?"

"We are going to prove his innocence when we get the truth from Malfoy," Hermione stated in a hushed whisper. There were only a few other students in the common room but they still had to be careful. Hermione wasn't keen on getting expelled for brewing a highly illegal potion.

Just when Ron opened his mouth to answer something, the door swung open and the Weasley twins climbed into the common room. They laughed loudly and every Gryffindor was immediately looking at them. A strange smell of gunpowder followed the twins as they whispered with each other and then strolled over. Hermione just frowned when she smelled the gunpowder and saw the burning marks on their trousers. Those two… probably already knee-deep in trouble again.

"Checkmate!" Ron suddenly announced with a proud smirk. Hermione only saw how her queen was dragged off the field by one of Ron's pieces and that her king surrendered himself. Frustrated she let out a huff.

"Congratulations," Hermione huffed, annoyed at herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the twins sitting at the fireplace.

"GEORGE!" She yelled. For a second both twins seemed surprised and twitched, but unfortunately, it was over too fast for her to make the connection. Both redheads winked at Hermione when they saw it had been her, and then proceeded to whisper and plan whatever mischief they were now up to.

"You know, I could just tell you which one which is." Ron quirked an eyebrow at her. His expression was a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"No, thank you. I will achieve it on my own." Hermione sniffed. After all this time it seemed like admitting failure if she would take Ron's help.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione had had the perfect plan. Knocking Crabbe and Goyle out with some sleeping potion, drinking the potion and then make Malfoy talk. It was a pretty simple plan all in all, but still brilliant. And in the end, it had been easier to do than previously thought. Even getting the hair of Millicent Bulstrode, that cow, had been quite easy. Well, if one ignored the fact that Hermione had had to actually physically fight the enormous girl…

So, in the end, the plan itself was simple, which made it so brilliant. And Hermione was keen on using that brilliance also against the twins. She would knock one of them or maybe Lee Jordan out, take their appearance and then get the other one to talk. And the best thing was that the twins would never know how she did it! Her knowing their names would come out of the blue, an unexpected hit, and Hermione grinned at herself as she imagined their confused faces.

With a soft humming, she prepared the last bits of the potion and carefully stuffed a bottle aside for her later prank before she handed Ron and Harry their potions. Hermione had a good feeling about it but then she swallowed the potion.

Pain roared through her bones and a terrifying feeling or burning crept of her skin. Nearby she could hear Ron and Harry groan and concluded that maybe that ripping sensation in her chest was normal. But then Hermione opened her eyes and saw the fur. And she knew that something went wrong.

She waited for an hour. One hour in which she just stared at her hand, her legs, her face in the mirror. Starred at the fur and the ears and the tail. And her eyes, her yellow cat-like eyes. She wasn't stupid. She knew what went wrong. But nonetheless, she was desperate because no matter how brilliant Hermione Granger was, she knew no way out of this. So, she just hoped that the effect would vanish after one hour.

For one-hour Hermione was busy with overthinking her decision to brew the potion and start all this plan. What if she would look like this for the rest of her life? What if someone found out about the potion? What if she would be expelled? Oh, Merlin, what would her parents say when they saw her like this?

When Hermione heard Ron and Harry coming back, she felt tears spill. Warm, fat teardrops rolled over her cheeks. The hour was over and she was still a cat! This was the worst thing ever…

At that moment Hermione decided that she would never consume Polyjuice potion ever again. No way in hell!

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

It turned out that spending her time as a cat wasn't so bad. Sure, the fur and the ears and the tail were a bit annoying but at least Hermione could study in the absolute silence of the hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey was actually pretty nice. Hermione's mood had become better after Madame Pomfrey had told her that there was a cure for her _accident._ The healer hadn't asked any questions but still, Hermione had the feeling the woman knew quite well what had happened. And of course, the daily visits from Ron and Harry also made it much better.

But the best thing was the note Hermione got from Professor Lockhart after a few days. A Get-Well Card for her! She couldn't believe that he had thought to write to her and she treasured the card, even if Ron was teasing her about it.

When Hermione went back to classes at the beginning of February she put the card on her nightstand. In her dorm room, she could at least be sure that neither Ron nor Harry would see it. Instead, Parvati and Lavender looked at it flabbergasted one day.

"Professor Lockhart sent you a card," Lavender sighed. The blonde was clutching at one of Lockhart's books. "I wish I was as smart as you, Hermione. I would do anything to get his attention."

"Yes," Parvati nodded eagerly, "his eyes are just sooo…"

"Dreamy," both girls giggled and Hermione guessed that they weren't talking about their Defence against the Dark Arts Professor for the first time like that. A bit shy she joined her roommates.

"Not to forget that he is so brilliant," Hermione added with a grin. "I mean, all these great deeds and how brave he is." For a while, the girls talked about how impressed they were by the books, but then the conversation quickly returned to Lockhart's eyes and smile. And while Hermione would never admit it in front of Harry or Ron, she agreed with her dorm mates that the blond professor was really handsome.

"Lavender and I are writing him Valentine cards. Do you want to join us?" Parvati winked at Hermione and presented her with some awfully pink stationery and a pot of ink that smelled like strawberry. Hermione blushed at the mere thought of writing a Professor something like that but agreed quickly. After all, it was only polite to thank him for the Get-Well Card.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione was on her way down to the Quidditch pitch when it happened again. Harry stopped suddenly and claimed to hear a voice. A voice that was announcing that it wanted to kill something. In that very moment, something clicked in the back of Hermione's mind.

_A voice no one could hear… No one but Harry… Harry, who was a parslemouth and could speak to snakes. Salazar Slytherin, the most famous parslemouth of all times._

Without wasting a second Hermione stormed off to the library. She needed to confirm her suspicion. Then she could tell Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall and maybe then someone would be able to stop this horror.

Hermione ran into the library, which earned her a glare from Madame Pince, and rushed to the Beings and Creature section. She browsed through the shelves until she found one book that looked promising and opened it.

_B… Banshee… Basilisk!_

With a pounding heart, Hermione read the article about the Basilisk and the more she read the more her nerves began to flutter. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to just storm off without telling anyone about her suspicion. Cold fear crept into her lungs when she saw that Madame Pince was already out and that nobody else was around.

As fast as she could Hermione ran to the exit only to stop in front of the door. Every step outside bore the risk of meeting the Basilisk. The beast was on the loose, Harry had heard it. And there was no way she could defend herself against it or run away from it. What to do? What to do? What to do?

Hermione ran back to the book, ripped the site off, scribbled down her additions and closed her fist around the paper. Even if she would meet the beast, she would still deliver her information. Determined she searched for her small hand mirror and opened the door. She was about to the step out when she saw the other girl.

A Ravenclaw prefect sat alone at one of the tables, studying and completely immersed in herself. The older girl didn't even seem to notice Hermione.

"You need to come with me," Hermione ran to the girl and pulled her out of her chair. The Ravenclaw looked confused and also a bit offended but before she could say anything Hermione was already rambling about her discovery.

"The monster in the chamber is a Basilisk and I think its hunting again. We need to get out of the castle as quick as possible." Hermione pulled the girl behind her.

"What? Are you sure?" The girl's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Here," Hermione showed her the site from the book. "Everything fits. We need to tell a teacher. I think we should split up. Do you have a hand mirror?" The girl nodded and pulled the mirror out of her pocket. Hermione briefly explained why and how to use it and then went to the door.

"Wait," the Ravenclaw stopped Hermione from opening the door." What's your name?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Penelope Clearwater." They both smiled weakly and nodded at each other, pulling the mirrors out and opened the door. They wanted to split up after the next corner. But then Hermione looked into her mirror to see behind the corner and she only saw eyes. Big, terrifying eyes. She felt her body stiffen and there was only fear in her heart.

 _Maybe Penelope makes it_ , was her last thought before everything went black and cold.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione stretched her muscles. Her eyes were heavy and her head felt like she had been hit by a troll. Every part of her body felt stiff and cold and hurt painfully. Her chest was aching with every breath she tried to take and her heart seemed to beat at an impossibly slow rate. A groan escaped her as she tried to open her eyes.

 _Oh Merlin, what the hell had happened?_ She couldn't move, but a warm feeling seemed to creep through her veins. A feeling that with every passing second got stronger and stronger till it reached her heart and her lungs. Finally, Hermione could take a deep, deep breath of fresh air and her chest became lighter and lighter. Confused she opened her eyes. It took her a few moments to realise what she saw and where she was.

_Hogwarts. Hospital Wing. Chamber of Secrets, Basilisk._

Hermione pulled herself up and looked around the room. Madame Pomfrey, Professor Sprout and Professor Snape were helping the other victims of the Basilisk as they slowly woke up. Hermione saw how Colin sat up and sadly inspected his camera. How Justin and Nearly Headless Nick both laughed timidly with each other. Penelope was also in one of the beds with Percy Weasley by her side. Both were holding hands and Percy seemed oddly emotional.

"Miss Granger, it's good to have you back." Professor McGonagall stood in front of Hermione, a warm smile in her normally stern face and fresh clothes in her hand.

"There is feast going on in the Great Hall and if you are feeling well enough I think your friends would be delighted to see you."

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Her second year ended too soon, Hermione found. She had spent most of it at the hospital wing - conscious and unconscious - and wasn't quite ready to leave yet. But there was no way around and so she enjoyed the ride on the train even more.

Hermione, Ron and Harry were in one compartment with the twins and Ginny. Ron's little sister was a little bit less shy than during the school year now that the shadow of Tom Riddle wasn't clouding her mind anymore. She joked with her brothers and even managed to talk with Harry a bit. But towards Hermione, she seemed oddly indifferent.

"Ha!" Hermione triumphed as she managed to disarm one of the twins. They had all been practising the disarming spell but no one had managed to pull one over the two pranksters till now. With a satisfied grin, Hermione caught the wand and smirked at them.

"Well, well, well," Hermione inspected the wand like she was thinking about something really hard. "What should I do now?" The twins raised their eyebrows at her but she could see that they weren't afraid of her. And honestly, she wasn't going to threaten them.

"You know, I could demand that you tell me your names." She suggested.

"You could, but really-"

"-wouldn't that be like cheating?" The twins smirked.

"Maybe," Hermione tossed Twin One his wand. "Plus, when I get your names I want a far better victory than this."

"Sounds like a declaration of war."

"You're on, little Miss Granger."

 _Yeah, game on_ , Hermione thought and with a grin, she leaned back in her seat. She couldn't wait for the next school year.


	5. Partners In Crime

Hermione stared down at the orange cat at her feet. The Tomcat was purring loudly at her, rubbed his head at her legs and meowed in a sweet, heart-breaking voice. It was clear what the cat wanted. And Hermione was no way opposed.

The ginger cat had the softest and fluffiest fur Hermione had ever touched and when she leaned down to stroke it, the cat leaned into her hand with a content purr. His face was flat and made him look a bit grumpy but the way he moved and tried to cuddle with Hermione was endearing. She found the cat absolutely gorgeous.

"Crookshanks seems to like you," the shopkeeper whispered in absolute awe. "Do you maybe want to take him home? He has been here for a long time and never once did he like one of the costumers. And honestly, no one wanted him either. He's a half kneazel and has quite a… unique character."

"I would love to," Hermione picked up the cat and looked into his bright, yellow eyes. A warm feeling spread through her chest at the sight of the cat and the way it snuggled into her arms and she knew that this was the best decision she could ever make. She had always wanted a pet during her childhood but her parents had never allowed it because it was too much work for two working parents. But now that Hermione lived at a boarding school during most of the year and could take her pet with her, the situation was different.

With a beating heart and an odd feeling of absolute joy, she slammed the money on the counter and accepted a package of free cat treats and a shrunken basket for transportation happily. The shopkeeper did seem a bit too grateful to sell Hermione the cat, but she didn't mind. With Crookshanks on her arm, she stepped out of the shop. Never in her life had she felt more like a picture book witch as now with a cat in her arms. The tomcat purred into her chest as she approached Harry and Ron.

"You bought that monster?" Ron accused her and Hermione only rolled her eyes at him. They bickered on her way to the Leaky Cauldron about Ron's absolutely unfounded fear for Scabbers because of Crookshanks. Honestly, her cat would live with her at Hogwarts and Ron had Scabbers at his dorm room anyway the whole time.

When they finally reached the Leaky Cauldron, Hermione watched the twins making a big show of greeting Harry and annoying Percy at the same time. Hermione only rolled her eyes at them and walked off to carry her trunk to the room she shared with Ginny.

With a happy meow, Crookshanks hopped onto Hermione's bed in the room and started to make himself comfortable. With a grin, Hermione left him there and went back to the guest room downstairs.

The dinner was a rowdy and happy affair with everyone telling stories and laughing together. When Hermione went to bed later that night she felt perfectly happy and content. She had high hopes for the new school year. Hopefully, it would be better - and safer - than the last two. She couldn't wait to visit Hogsmeade finally and take her electives, even if she still was a bit anxious if she could actually take all of them. But Professor McGonagall had told her that she would take care of it personally, so Hermione put her trust in her favourite teacher.

"Hey," Ginny shyly entered the room and sat down on her bed. The redhead watched Crookshanks with a longing gaze but didn't move to an inch. For a while, there was an uncomfortable silence in the room as both girls dressed up for bed.

"You can come offer and pet him," Hermione offered finally to break the silence. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason, she had never been alone with Ginny before and they never had had an actual conversation. Harry or one of the Weasley brothers had always been there, probably because all of Ginny's brothers were absolutely protective of their little sister.

"I would love to," Ginny whispered, "I really like cats. Mum never allowed us one because of the chickens." Gently Ginny offered Crookshanks her hand to sniff on it. For a moment Crookshanks only eyed her, then he rubbed his head against Ginny's hand. The younger girl smiled widely and started to stroke the half-kneazel happily, which was rewarded with a loud purr.

"And Ron says he is a monster, honestly…" Hermione muttered more to herself as she watched them.

"You and Ron fight a lot, don't you?"

"I wouldn't say we fight… we argue. We are pretty different so we often have different opinions." Hermione thought about Ron's accusations against Crookshanks. Okay, maybe a cat wasn't the perfect option but really there wouldn't be a problem when Ron was watching over his rat close enough.

"My mum always says that quarrelling is a show of affection," Ginny stated and stared at Hermione expectantly. Hermione got the feeling that the young girl waited - or hoped - for a specific answer.

"Well, Ron and I are friends so maybe we show our friendship with that, but I think that's not the kind of affection your mum meant."

"Oh," Ginny seemed genuinely disappointed. "So, I guess its Harry, huh." A snort escaped Hermione as she finally realised what Ginny was trying to say the whole time.

"Absolutely not!" She laughed. "Harry and Ron are both not really my… type, I think. They are my best friends and everything but not more. And I'm not interested in dating right now anyway." A relieved sigh escaped Ginny and the young girl blushed.

"That's good- good to know, I mean."

"I take it you still have a crush on Harry?" Hermione didn't want to tease Ginny, but it was too easy.

"Well, yeah…" Ginny blushed an even deeper red. "I mean, first it was because he is Harry Potter. I liked him because he was famous and I heard all those stories about him my whole life. And during the last year at school, it was also mainly for that reason. It was like a celebrity crush, you know?" Hermione nodded silently, the shame of having a crush on Gilderoy Lockhart was still fresh in her mind. She couldn't believe the man had been a swindler the whole time.

"But after Harry rescued me from the chamber I realised that he didn't like being Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, very much and that all this attention was annoying to him. I actually talked about it with Ron a lot over the holidays. He gave me good preaching about treating Harry like a normal human being rather than a hero." Ginny smiled sheepishly and Hermione only shook her head at the thought of Ron giving his sister advice about Harry.

She could imagine that Ron hadn't been soft on Ginny and gave her a piece of mind. After all, Ron was the number one person to make Harry feel like a normal boy, Hermione was very aware of that. She herself was mostly too worried about Harry to give him that feeling, at least not like Ron did.

"Well, I think that's a pretty good advice. Just be normal around Harry and he will be more comfortable around you as well." Both girls stayed up for a bit, stroking Crookshanks and commenting on his wonderful soft fur before they went to bed.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The next morning started relaxed for Hermione and Ginny. They had both already packed their trunks and so they could enjoy an early breakfast with Mrs Weasley while the boys all packed last minute.

"You know, when I was your age love potions were really popular. All the girls used them. I tried it once myself." Mrs Weasley whispered with a secretive smile and Ginny giggled at that.

"But isn't it's kind of... immoral to use a love potion on someone? I mean, it takes a person's free will, doesn't it?" Hermione asked timidly.

"Oh no, dear, our love potions were different. Sure, there are potions like amortentia that are really strong and create false love, but the potion I brewed had a different effect. It urges the victim to... act on his feeling." Mrs Weasley blushed a bit. "For example, if someone is already in love he or she will show it thanks to the potion."

"Oh, that sounds fun. Who did you use it on, Mum?" Ginny asked with a giggle.

"Your father of course. I knew he was in love with me and I thought I should give him a shove in the right direction." The older woman winked at them and then proceeded to describe how Mr Weasley had confessed his feelings with a big show in the middle of the Great Hall and how they started to date after that. When Harry and the rest of the Weasleys finally made their way down Hermione, Ginny and Mrs Weasley were all giggling loudly.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur while everyone tried to shove their belongings into the ministry cars. Hermione struggled to calm Crookshanks down, who wasn't very happy in his wooden basket. The poor cat was obviously stressed about his captivity and Hermione vowed to release him as soon as possible.

When they finally reached the train station everyone was eager to board the train as soon as possible and the farewell was therefore quite chaotic. In between Mrs Weasley tried to hand out her homemade sandwiches to all of her children. While Hermione tried to sooth Crookshanks in his basket the older woman first called for Ron.

"Here you are, Ron… no, they're not corned beef… Fred? Where's Fred?" Hermione's head snapped up as she tried to watch which twin would answer.

"Here you are, dear…" Mrs Weasley smiled at one of the twins and handed him a sandwich.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Mum, but I'm George," the twin winked at Hermione.

"No way, I am George!" The other twin yelled with a smirk. Both grinned down at their mother, who just huffed and muttered 'Whatever' while she handed George - or maybe Fred - the next package of sandwiches. Frowning Hermione watched the laughing twins disappear. They actually had managed to keep their antics in the presence of their own mother.

"You know, I could help you." Ginny offered shyly while she scratched Crookshanks through the small opening of the basket. The cat hissed a bit first but then apparently decided that getting a scratch while being prisoned was better than nothing.

"No thank you, it would feel like cheating if you tell me," Hermione answered.

"Well, I said nothing about telling you. I said I would help." Ginny smirked and at this moment she looked oddly similar to the twins. "You know, your best chance is to catch them off-guard. I could be your partner-in-crime."

"When you say it like that," Hermione felt herself smile a little evil smirk, "I think it's a brilliant idea." Both girls made their way to the train while whispered and giggled about a possible idea for pranking the twins.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione spent the train ride with Ron and Harry - and the sleeping Professor Remus Lupin - talking about the conversation of Mr and Mrs Weasley and the threat of Sirius Black. A weight settled in Hermione's chest when she heard that her best friend was the target of the escaped Death Eater Black. In the last two school years, there had always been a threat and Harry had always been in dangerous situations, but this time it was different. This time he specifically targeted. This time it wasn't his hero complex that got him into trouble, but solely his existence.

But all these thoughts vanished from Hermione's mind the moment the train stopped and the dementor opened the door. She froze instantly. It felt like she was petrified all over again and couldn't move a single finger. Her whole body was stiff, but this time she was conscious and it felt like she would never be able to move again. Like she would have to spend her whole life frozen like this. With wide eyes, Hermione watched how Harry fell to the floor and started to shake. But still, she couldn't move.

And then the sleeping Professor jumped up and a bright silver light filled the compartment. It washed away the frozen feeling in Hermione's body and instantly she kneeled beside Harry, trying to secure his head. Ron was quickly by her side.

"Harry," both Hermione and Ron sighed in relief when their friend finally opened his eyes. Cold angst was still present in every bone and nerve in Hermione's body. If these were the guards of Azkaban than she wasn't keen on ever meeting Sirius Black. Someone, who not only survived the constant presence of these monsters but also escaped them, certainly had to be a monster himself.

"Here, I think you need it too." Hermione handed Ginny a big chunk of chocolate later when the train was moving again. The small girl was still shivering and Hermione noticed that Ginny had reacted almost as badly to the dementors as Harry. She hadn't fallen unconscious, but her fear was visible.

"Thank you." With small bites, Ginny started to eat the chocolate but didn't say a word about the effect the prison guard had had on her.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

When Hermione was in her dorm room bed, curtains drawn and Crookshanks beside her, she finally had the time to inspect the time turner. It was beautiful. The tiny, sparkling hourglass inside the golden rings and the fine engravings of magical runes were stunning and the fine, golden necklace almost seemed too delicate. The sight alone made Hermione's heart skip a beat. And the thought of being entrusted something so powerful, so important and wonderful, to have the opportunity to use such extraordinary magic, that was enough to make her blush. When Professor McGonagall had given the time turner to Hermione it had felt like accolade.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The first two weeks of school went by in a blur. Hermione had some trouble to get used to the time turner. It was more difficult than she had thought to use it without anyone realising it. Especially Ron was surprisingly fast with acknowledging that something was going on. He caught up almost every time in the first few days that Hermione vanished and reappeared. And it was slowly worrying her.

But all in all, she enjoyed her classes and the new school year immensely. She loved Ancient Runes and Arithmancy and was always excited to get to these classes and work on the assignments. Care for Magical Creatures and Divination instead were slowly turning into her most hated subjects. Hermione couldn't believe it herself, but she discovered that even at a magical school there were subjects she didn't like. At her muggle school, she had always detested classes like art and sport, where there wasn't anything to read or study, but at Hogwarts Divination was her most hated class. Not only did she thought of Professor Trelawney as a horrible person for forcing Harry into the spotlight constantly, but the subject itself also did nothing for Hermione. Instead, she had to suppress the urge to openly fight with a teacher.

Care for Magical Creatures had started promising with the Hippogriffs, but after Draco Malfoy's 'accident' Hagrid, unfortunately, decided to play it safe and the class became the most boring one. Harry and Ron were constantly complaining about the flobberworms and even Hermione had to admit that she learned nothing in that class. There were even moments when she thought about giving up on Divination and Care of Magical Creatures but then she remembered how much trust Professor McGonagall had in her with entrusting her the Time Turner. Hermione felt like it would be a waste of this wonderful opportunity if she would give up just because of her personal dislike against Professor Trelawney and flobberworms.

But the best class of all was undeniably Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin maybe seemed a bit ragged with his old clothes and scars, but there was a certain air of confidence about him that made every class a delight. Hermione admired how easy he explained everything, how he motivated every student - even Neville - and was overall friendly and nice to his students. He was truly a born teacher and Hermione enjoyed his classes and assignments immensely. Sometimes she remembered quite angry how dumb she had been because of Lockhart last year and vowed to never get blinded by good looks and fame like that.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione's fourteenth birthday was the best birthday she had had so far. It was the first birthday she spent surrounded by friends - since last year both Harry and Ron hadn't known when her birthday was.

Hermione got up in the morning and was greeted by the grumpy face of Crookshanks, who cuddled into her side and purred sweetly as if he knew what day it was. Delighted she spent the time till she had to go down to breakfast with the cat in bed.

The first who congratulated her was Ginny. The younger girl sneaked into Hermione's room shortly before breakfast, slipped through the curtains and settled on the other side of Crookshanks. With a bright smile, she hugged Hermione and handed her a small bag of self-made cookies as a gift.

"It isn't much, but I made them myself during the summer and Mum put a preserving spell on it. They should still taste good." The redhead shrugged sheepish with a blush, but Hermione liked the gift nonetheless. She knew the Weasleys hadn't much money, but she didn't expect big gifts from her friends anyway.

The next congratulations came of course from Harry and Ron. Both boys waited for her at the common room and hugged her tightly when she came down. They handed her a big book about the history of Hogsmeade as a gift from both of them as well as a bag of cat treats. Ron just shrugged at her surprised face and murmured something about that maybe her bloody cat wouldn't chase Scabbers if he was well fed.

At breakfast Hermione was surprised to see not one owl, but two landed in front of her with packages. From her parents, she got three books from her wish list and a Polaroid camera, so that Hermione could make some photos from Hogwarts and her new pet - her parents were pretty curious about Crookshanks - and send them back home.

The second owl came from Mr and Mrs Weasley with a chocolate tart and a card whishing Hermione well for her birthday. When the twins saw how Errol made his way over the table, more jumping and crashing than actually flying, there were quick to congratulate Hermione as well.

"Now, Miss Granger, how does it fell to be so old?" Twin One sneaked an arm around her waist. "So, our gift to you is a personalised prank. Anyone you want to punish? Maybe Malfoy, the little git? We could make him lose his voice for a week."

"-or a month!" Twin Two interrupted.

"Or should we dye Snape's hair pink?" Twin One grinned down to her but Hermione only frowned.

"How about you two introduce yourself to me properly. You know, like normal people do when they first meet each other." She scolded, but a little smile betrayed her sternness and the twins only laughed at her.

"Well, since we're not normal-"

"-we can skip that. Pretty sure you will figure it out anyway."

"As for the birthday prank, I think we will just surprise you." Both twins stood up with a light chuckle and then walked off, whispering and obviously plotting something.

In the late afternoon Hermione, Harry and Ron had the pleasure to witness the birthday prank, when Draco Malfoy ran over the courtyard chased by a Hippogriff plush animal.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"Ron is still angry at me," Hermione sighed as Ginny made herself comfortable on her bed. The girls had decided that the common room wasn't the ideal place for plotting a prank against the twins and so went to Hermione's dorm room.

Lavender and Parvati were again at the Divination classroom, listening to Professor Trelawney's ridiculous prophecies. Since the start of the Divination classes and Hermione's constant criticism against the subject and teacher, her relationship with her dorm mates had become a bit tense. So, she was more than glad that she had a new girlfriend in Ginny.

"He will get over it. All cats are chasing rats and mice. It isn't like Crookshanks is targeting Scabbers specifically." Ginny lured the cat on her lap. Since Ron was angry at Hermione because of Crookshanks she tried to keep him in her dorm room as often as possible.

"But that exactly what Ron thinks." Hermione huffed while she pulled out her notebook from the last year and opened the page with her information on the twins. Curiously Ginny read everything and then looked at Hermione with wide eyes.

"You already figured it all out by yourself."

"Yeah, I think I can tell them apart quite well," Hermione smirked, "but I want them to betray their little game. I want to win." She winked at Ginny. "At that's where I need your help. I'm not good with pranking and scheming."

"Don't worry, I will help you. The twins won't know what hit them." With a confident smile, Ginny grabbed a quill and started to scribble down notes and ideas.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

When the season slowly changed and October came around Hermione found herself more and more enjoying the friendship of the youngest Weasley sibling. Since Ron was constantly sulking because of Crookshanks and Scabbers - Hermione did have a guilty conscience, but honestly, it was ridiculous to think that Crooks was targeting Scabbers personally - and Harry was off to Quidditch training three evenings in the week, Hermione found herself alone quite often. Lavender and Parvati were also more distant than ever since Hermione had apparently not shown enough empathy when Lavender's rabbit died.

Ginny meanwhile was not only glad to spend time with Hermione, but she was also good company. The two girls had a lot to talk about and found themselves opening up to each other more and more.

Ginny told Hermione about her year under the control of Tom Riddle. How she still had nightmares and how the dementors had reminded her off all those bad memories. She told Hermione about her guilty feelings towards all the Muggle-borns in Hogwarts, who had been petrified and terrified because of her. Hermione opened up to Ginny equally when she told her all about her terrible start of the first year.

And of course, Harry was a big part of their conversations. Ginny still had a big crush on him and had a constant urge to talk about him. The girl was pretty insecure about how to behave around him, what to say and what to do, and if Harry actually recognized her as more than just Ron's little sister. These conversations were sometimes tiring and annoying for Hermione but for the sake of both Harry and Ginny she endured it and tried to give Ginny the best advice she could think of.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"And remember our shopping list," Ginny whispered at breakfast. "And be careful so that Ron doesn't know what you buy. He can't keep his mouth shut."

"Of course." Hermione nodded back and mirrored Ginny's small grin and then both continued with their breakfast.

It was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year and Hermione was excited to finally see the village. She also felt a bit bad for Harry, since he wasn't allowed to join them, but was also glad. Secretly she was worried about him leaving the castle with Sirius Black on the run.

Her worries were blown away when Hermione and Ron entered Hogsmeade together with the other Gryffindor students from their year. The village was everything Hermione had ever dreamed of. A place full of magic were witches and wizards could live without worrying of being discovered by muggles. It was like Diagon Alley, but larger and better. There were shops as well as normal houses, cafés and pubs and a lot of different people.

Shortly after their arrival Lavender and Parvati excused themselves to visit some café they already heard of, where one could apparently read the tea leaves especially well. Neville, Seamus and Dean headed for Zonkos' first and eagerly Hermione and Ron accompanied them. Hermione was very glad about that because it gave her the opportunity to sneak off and buy a few things from the shopping list without Ron noticing since he was busy laughing with Dean about some prank or another.

The rest of the afternoon Hermione and Ron spent together with just the two of them, visiting everything. They went to Honeydukes and bought the best sweets for Harry, they visited to post office where Ron complained about not having an own owl, and they had a break at the Three Broomsticks, where Hermione tasted her very first butterbeer. When it was time to go back to the castle they both were a bit sad but also eager to tell Harry everything about their day.

Humming Hermione sat down beside Ginny later at the Halloween feast.

"You got everything?" Ginny whispered. Nodding Hermione tried to keep a straight face and handed Ginny the paper bag with all the necessary items for their prank. They wanted to do it tonight since tomorrow was Sunday and they had the whole day off. That was the perfect occasion for pranking that was supposed to last for twelve hours.

Excited Hermione and Ginny followed behind Harry and Ron to the Gryffindor Tower when suddenly there was a little tumult in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. It took Hermione a few minutes to understand what was happening but when she saw the ripped canvas of the portrait and that the Fat Lady was missing, she grabbed Harry's arm. Every instinct screamed at her to keep her best friend close since this was obviously a dangerous situation. Only minutes later her fears were deemed the truth when Peeves happily announced that Sirius Black had been the one who tried to enter the tower. The tower where Harry lived and slept.


	6. Good Intentions

Hermione's and Ginny's brilliant plan to prank the twins during the Halloween night was cancelled when the students of all four houses were ushered into the Great Hall. With so many people around, it didn't seem possible to secretly place the prank. Plus, Harry and Ron were pulling Hermione into a corner as soon as possible to discuss the new development.

Hermione's heart clenched at the thought of Sirius Black trying to enter the Gryffindor Tower and she asked herself again and again how he had done it. How had he entered the castle without anyone noticing?

In the days after Halloween rumours and theories were spreading like wildfire and it reminded Hermione awfully of the last school year, where everybody had speculated about the Heir of Slytherin. Thankfully this time no one was suspecting Harry. Quite the opposite. Teachers and students alike threw uncertain gazes at Hermione's black-haired best friend and there always seemed to be one Professor around - purely on coincidence of course. It annoyed Harry immensely, but Hermione was very glad about it and also tried to be near Harry as often as possible.

Now that she was getting used to the Time Turner it became easier to vanish and reappear without gaining too much attention. Ron was still a bit irritated from time to time, but Hermione easily deflected his accusations and instead used the Time-Turner to stay near Harry. She used it to accompany him to classes and meals and on the grounds of Hogwarts. She was sure that Harry thought nothing about it, didn't even find it curious. But it soothed Hermione's mind to know that he wasn't alone and that the whole school was looking out for him.

As the Quidditch season quickly approached finally some kind of normality crept back and the next match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was the top talk of the school. Hermione appreciated it immensely that people were talking about something different for a change. The whole talk about Sirius Black grated on her nerves and was a constant reminder for her to worry about Harry.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Loud giggling made Hermione look up one evening from the essay she was currently writing. Ginny and Ron, who both sat beside her and worked on their own homework, also looked up. The Gryffindor team was huddled in front of the fire and Oliver Wood, the twins and Harry didn't look happy at all. The three chasers instead were giggling.

"What?" Wood asked with a frown.

"He's that tall, good-looking one, isn't he?" Angelina said and Alicia even sighed a bit.

"Strong and silent," Katie swooned and the giggling started again. Hermione almost laughed at the faces of Wood and the twins.

"He's only silent because he's too thick to string two words together," Twin Once huffed with an impatient frown on his face and Twin Two nodded. The bickering between the teammates started again with Oliver Wood scolding everyone and yelling something about taking Hufflepuff lightly and the girls still chatting about Cedric Diggory. Hermione tried to ignore them but filed away the information about Fred and George's apparent dislike of Cedric Diggory for later.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The moment Harry fell down from his broom and raced down to earth seemed to be endless to Hermione. In reality it only took seconds till Professor Dumbledore casted the spell to chase of the Dementors and rescued Harry, but to Hermione it was eternity. She was in the stand with Ron and Ginny by her side and clutched the hands of both redheads desperately. The world seemed to stand still and Hermione, who normally was the first to react, was frozen in shock.

She followed Harry's body with her eyes and some little voice in her head whispered, ' _He can't survive that_ '. Hermione knew the Muggle phrase ' _Like watching an accident_ ' but now she finally understood what it truly meant. It meant being unable to look away even when you - really, really - wanted to. When you wanted to close your eyes or turn away or go away but your body wasn't responding. I meant witnessing something terrible.

When Dumbledore stopped Harry's fall and saved him in the last-minute Hermione felt like a thousand pounds were lifted off her chest. She took a deep breath and carefully let go of Ron. She had grabbed his hands painfully tight but her best friend didn't even seem to realise it. Ron's eyes were fixed on the Quidditch pitch and his face was absolutely blank. Ginny on the other hand already had small tears in her eyes.

"Come," Hermione whispered to Ron and quickly they proceeded to follow Dumbledore, who had Harry on a stretcher, to the castle.

"Professor!" Ron called out as Dumbledore tried to close the doors to the infirmary and the Headmaster turned to them. "Can we- We want to be there when Harry wakes up," Ron asked with a surprisingly firm voice and Hermione was thankful for that. She felt unable to speak a word.

"Well, it seems like you are not the only ones." The old professor stated with a twinkle and as Hermione turned she saw the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team, minus Oliver Wood, run towards them.

"How is he?" Angelina Johnson called, which earned her a glare from Madame Pomfrey, who stood in the door.

"He is physically well but needs rest and therefore silence." The school nurse stated primly and tried to close the doors in front of the Gryffindors noses. At once the team, Hermione and Ron started to protest and tried to get inside the infirmary. Finally, the twins managed to get past Madam Pomfrey and held open the door for the rest of them.

"Well, Poppy, I think there's nothing wrong with having a few familiar and friendly faces around when Mister Potter awakes." Professor Dumbledore smiled at them. "Now, please excuse me, I have to have words with the guards of Azkaban."

The whole lot of them made themselves comfortable around Harry's bed in hope that the seeker would wake up soon. His unconscious body in the white hospital sheets looked terribly frail and little to Hermione. But for some time, nothing happened besides Madame Pomfrey scolding them for being too loud.

When Professor Flitwick came in to present them the remains of Harry's Nimbus 2000 the mood in the room changed dramatically. It was like now everybody realised how truly dangerous the situation had been and that Harry had almost ended as damaged as his broom. The twins paled visibly.

"Merlin, first losing the game and now his broom. This will hit him hard." One of the twins muttered and while they all started to discuss the fall Harry opened his eyes with a flutter.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The last Hogsmeade weekend before the holidays was a day Hermione yearned for since Halloween. For once she wanted to visit the magical village again but more importantly she wanted to prank the twins finally. Because of the nature of the prank Hermione and Ginny had decided that it had to happen on a weekend, so that neither they nor the twins would get into any trouble with the teachers. And it had to happen after a Hogsmeade weekend, where the twins always bought new sweets since the girls wanted to manipulate said sweets. Ginny knew from experience that the twins always ate their sweets at once, often the very same evening, so there was only a small-time frame.

What Hermione didn't expect was Harry, standing in front of her and grinning madly. Her first thought was  _'How the hell did he got out of the castle?'_  and the second was to bring him back as soon as possible. But Harry and Ron wouldn't listen to any of her concerns and tell on Harry was something Hermione just couldn't do. Even if she had a terribly uneasy feeling in her chest for the rest of their Hogsmeade trip. In her mind she cursed the twins for giving the map to Harry. Those two had no idea in what kind of trouble he could get with that - well, probably that was their goal Hermione realised belatedly.

When they decided to drink a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks she was instantly relieved. At least they were off the streets and inside a building with lots of adults. Here Sirius Black would never try to attack Harry hopefully.

But, oh Merlin, had she been wrong. Physically Harry was save from Sirius Black at the pub, but emotionally… well, that was entirely different story. Hermione sat beside Ron, frozen in place, and wished desperately that someone would see them. That someone would stop this conversation finally. But with every word spoken and with every tiny bit of information revealed it got worse. Hermione could practically feel Harry beginning to boil under the table and she was glad that he, at least, didn't jump up right away and confronted the Minister and the Professors.

When Harry jumped up and left the pub all Hermione and Ron could see was his backside. He was too fast for them to follow and - assuming that he was running back to the castle - the two of them made their way back to Hogwarts as quickly as possible.

"He's either asleep or pretending to be," Ron muttered after he came back to the common room. "I don't think he wants to speak to us right now."

"You don't think he will do something stupid, do you?" Hermione nibbled on her lip nervously.

"Well…" Ron stared at her like she had sprouted wings, but then a worried expression spread on his face. "I wouldn't put it past him to get the dumb idea to search for Black himself. Remember, my dad told him not to do it at King's Cross. He warned Harry, but back then we didn't know why he did it."

"Now we know." Hermione sighed. "Ron, we have to talk with him. I don't want him to do something dangerous."

They sat beside the fire in the common room for a while, almost alone since most of the other students still were at Hogsmeade and discussed what they wanted to say to Harry. It was one of the seldom occasions where Hermione and Ron were in complete agreement.

When the other Gryffindors came back Hermione was so immersed by worrying over Harry that she had completely forgotten about the prank she and Ginny wanted to play on Fred and George. But then Ginny sneaked down the stairs from the boys' dormitories and with a tight knot in her stomach, Hermione realised that the prank was already placed and couldn't be stopped anymore.

"Everything is prepared. Those two won't know what hit them." Ginny grinned and pulled Crookshanks into her lap.

"Oh okay," Hermione tried to smile but a heavy feeling weighted down her stomach. How could she have fun laughing at the twins when Harry had just heard the truth about his parents' death. He was probably in an emotional turmoil between angry and sad. But Hermione couldn't tell that Ginny, it was Harry's decision to share this and so she kept quiet and pretended to be as excited as Ginny.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione's worries grew when Harry didn't come down for dinner that evening, but Ron assured her that their best friend probably just needed some alone time. So, they went down to the Great hall without him and sat down with Ginny and the twins.

Ginny's eyes flashed with mischief when she handed one of the twins a plate with sausages.

"Can I have some chocolate from you two for the ride home? Just in case if the Dementors decide to search the train again." The small girl asked her older brothers in her best I'm-your-scared-little-sister-voice and it had the anticipated effect. Both twins went serious in seconds and shook their heads a sad no.

"Sorry, Ginny, we kind of already ate all of it while..." Twin One confessed but caught himself as he realised how interested Ron and Hermione listened. Hermione was, of course, curious about what they were planning but she had more pressing questions to ask.

"So, Fred," she smiled sweetly, "what are you planning to do during the holidays?" Hermione avoided Ginny's gaze so that she wouldn't betray herself. She suppressed the urge to laugh nervously while she handed Ron a bowl with mashed potatoes. Merlin, she really wasn't good at lying.

"Well since I'm not Fred I have no idea what he will do, but I certainly plan to spend my time with leisure entertainment und home cooked food." Twin One smirked. But before Twin Two could jump into the conversation and claim to be George as well something unusual happened. The prank kicked in.

Twin One, who had claimed to be not Fred, was purple. An electric purple. His skin and even his hair were all dyed a deep, radiant purple and the whole Gryffindor table was staring at him curiously.

"What the hell!" The second twin breathed as he watched his brother.

"What are you staring-"Twin One caught sight of his hands and looked down in shock. "Do you think that's-"

"Can't be, it shouldn't do that-"

"-But maybe we measured something wrong-"

"Maybe some of the ingredients were expired."

In hushed voices the twins proceeded to speculate what had happened. Hermione really, really tried to stay calm and focused, but seeing how they got themselves into a frenzy was too much. Loud laughter was breaking out of her and soon she had small tears in her eyes and her stomach ached. Ginny joined her seconds after, the pressure of keeping quiet finally too much. Ron was just shrugging and started to eat again while the twins' heads snapped up.

"My, my, you seem to have an awfully lot of fun tonight." The purple twin stated with a big grin and Hermione saw that even his tongue was purple. A new wave of laughter escaped her.

"Almost seems a bit proud." The other one mused and Hermione took a deep breath to prepare herself for the final strike. Ginny meanwhile put on a mask of indifference and started to eat again like this was not her business at all.

"I do, George, I do." She pressed out between chuckles.

"Well, if I were you I would just stop trying to call us by name. It's getting a bit embarrassing, isn't it?" Twin Two smirked.

"Why? You're telling me you aren't George?" Hermione challenged and hoped he would make the final mistake. She took a slow sip of her pumpkin juice.

"Exactly! I'm Fred." He grinned but his smile vanished when he saw Hermione's triumphant smirk and the shocked expression on the blue twin's face

"Gotcha!" And from one second to the other Twin Two was also changing the colour of his skin and hair. But instead of purple he was orange, such a bright orange that it almost hurt the eyes. Pearls of laughter and giggle sounded from around the long house table and even students from other houses were now turning to see what caused it. It didn't take long till almost all of the Great Hall was laughing. Even the teachers were smiling a bit and thankfully no one asked what was going on.

"So,  _Fred and George_ ," Hermione stressed the names as she nodded towards the twins, "you really trying to lie to me again?" She smirked and saw that the twins had realised that she had actually called them by their right names.

"I get the feeling it wouldn't help as much." Fred, the purple one, laughed. "Seems like she took our declaration of war quite serious."

"Beat us in our game." George nodded, his orange hair falling into his eyes. "How did you do that?"

"Well, I will tell you under one condition."

"And what would that be?" The twins asked simultaneously and each quirked an eyebrow.

"I think you know exactly what I want." Beside Hermione Ginny and Ron both snorted. Ginny because of her desperate try to suppress her laughter and Ron probably because of her choice of words.

"And what if we won't do that?" George asked, the challenge obvious.

"Well, let me tell you why you are so wonderfully colourful. The potion you ate without noticing has the effect that you change your colour every time you lie. It won't force you to tell the truth, but it shows the enquirer if you tell the truth or not. I takes 48 hours for it to wear off. So, if you won't finally introduce yourself to me, then I will tell the whole school, all teachers and your mother, that you are still able to lie, but that it is awfully easy to catch you. Tell me your names and I give you the antidote."

"Fine, you got us," Fred laughed, "Fred Weasley, pleased to meet you." He offered his hand and grinned as she shook it.

"Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you as well." George and Hermione repeated the introduction.

"So, you remember all the sweets you ate today, freshly bought from Honeydukes?" Hermione explained in her best, proper know-it-all-voice, while she nonchalantly started to eat again. "I infused them with a potion I developed."

"How?" Fred interrupted her.

"Doesn't matter." Hermione made a waving gesture with her hand and looked away from Ginny. They had decided to not reveal her involvement so that they could use it against the twins in the future again. "Well, I didn't develop the potion completely, it's a prank from Zonkos' and I tweaked it a bit to fulfil my requirements."

"And you wanted to dye us orange and purple?" George shook his hand.

"No, I wanted to catch you red-handed. I always like the motif of colour in that phrase, so I decided to use it as a prank." She winked. "I won't tell you what I product I used and how I changed it, but as promised." She handed both twins a vial with the antidote and they swallowed it with perfect trust. Ginny had a hard time keeping her face straight.

"My name is George and I'm an eleven-year-old girl," Fred stated happily as he didn't change colour again. But he was still purple and now both twins realised that the colour didn't vanish.

"Little Miss Granger, breaking your word?" Fred stated, mockingly offended.

"Maybe we should have made you swallow that nasty potion." George rummaged through his pockets and offered her one of the Honeyduke's sweets that were probably infused with her potion.

"Nope, I just said I would give you the antidote. I never said what it would do. You can lie again but the colour stays for twelve hours. A little reminder to never mess with me." She flashed them a smile and then stood up, Ginny by her side. Ron also quickly finished his meal and followed her out of the hall.

"Merlin, Hermione that was brilliant," Ron whispered in awe, a serene smile on his face.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione's good mood lasted till the next morning and even got better when she saw the still purple Fred and orange George bolting down the stairs. In the common room and at the Great Hall the two were the cause for many laughs, but they took it like the entertainers they were and showed off terribly. They bowed every few meters and told everyone, who listened exaggerated stories about why they were purple and orange.

But when Hermione and Ron both realised that Harry wasn't coming down to breakfast, they were getting more and more worried. After they had sent Fred, George and Ginny off to the train they made their way back to the common room to wait for their best friend. Ron was constantly reassuring Hermione that Harry really was asleep and that he probably needed the rest. Nonetheless, she sent Ron up every hour to look after Harry.

When Harry finally came down it was exactly like Hermione and Ron had feared. Their best friend was angry - almost furious - and demanded answers. Demanded revenge. Hermione was almost glad when Hagrid told them about the trial of Buckbeak so that Harry had no opportunity to ask more questions about his parents and their friendship to Sirius Black.

Still, a deep feeling of dark forbidding lay heavy on her heart and on Christmas morning when Hermione caught sight of the Firebolt in Harry's hands - an expensive gift without a card - she could almost feel the shadow of Black looming over them.

"Crooks, why do you have to do that all the time?" She scolded her ginger cat while she stomped down the stairs of the boys' dorm room. Crookshanks had tried to attack Scabbers again and to some degree Hermione could understand Ron's fear. But trying to kick her cat out of the way was another story. It was natural behaviour, for Merlin's sake. Neither she nor Crookshanks could do anything against it.

For the rest of the day Hermione proceeded to stare at Harry's new broom and tried to think of a possibility to protect him without telling one of the teachers. She could probably do some of the spells required to search for curses herself but would that be enough? Such a dark wizard as Sirius Black surely knew more curses as she knew spells to detect and counter them. Merlin, the man probably knew that the broom would be checked and therefore used the rarest and difficult curses possible. Hermione tried very hard not to imagine what would happen if Harry would ride the broom for the first time.

"Professor McGonagall," she timidly approached her head of house after the Christmas dinner. "There is something I have to tell you."

Hermione took a deep breath and retold the story of the morning. It was the right decision. She knew it. Harry would probably be angry, but it was still necessary. Hermione wouldn't risk her friend's life just to avoid a fight. And Ron would be on her side. After the conversation they had had about keeping Harry from doing something stupid like revenging his parents and searching for Black, Hermione was sure that Ron would understand why she had to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that's it for now. Finally, I'm able to write about the twins as Fred and George and no longer Twin One and Twin Two. It was annoying me immensely, but I wanted to the prank in this setting and at this point in the timeline because it's important for later.
> 
> Tell me what you think so far of the story :) I'm grateful for every review


	7. Hide And Not-Seek

Hermione sat at the library as she had in the last three days. She worked rigorously on her homework for all her classes - and she attended enough classes to keep herself busy for weeks - but still the nagging feeling of disappointment, loneliness, sadness and anger was boiling under the surface of her carefully blank face.

She didn't want to show Harry and Ron how deeply wounded she was by their behaviour. But she was, quite bad actually. She had only told Professor McGonagall about the broom because she was worried about Harry. She had thought that the boys would get it, would understand it. Of course, she had expected them to be angry first, but not like this. And she certainly had thought that Ron would see things her way.

Honestly, wasn't Harry's safety more important than some stupid broom? And he would get the blasted thing back, for Merlin's sake. It wasn't like McGonagall would destroy the broom or lock it away forever. Their professors would check it thoroughly and then Harry would get his stupid toy back.

Hermione willed herself to stop thinking about it and concentrated back on her homework. She was currently rewriting her essay on werewolves for Professor Snape since they hadn't needed to hand it in she wanted at least to add it to her personal learning materials. And it was a good way to keep her mind busy. Werewolves were quite fascinating to her since Muggles also had their own myths and fairy tales about them. Hermione often caught herself wondering how similar the magical  _truth_ and the muggle  _myth_  were to each other. And still, they were miles between them. Really fascinating.

It was also really fascinating that Professor Lupin was always sick when there was a full moon around. While checking the facts for her essay Hermione suddenly realised the many matches between the behaviour of werewolves and the  _sickness_  of their DADA teacher. He was a werewolf, Hermione realised, but even that couldn't lighten her up. The thought of sharing it with Ron and Harry flitted through her mind, but since they weren't talking with her and Lupin was a really good teacher she decided to keep silent for now.

_At the DADA lesson from Professor Snape Ron defended_   _me_ , Hermione remembered suddenly as she wrote down the differences between a werewolf and an Animagus. Snape had scolded her for being a know-it-all and Ron - despite calling her such himself quite often - had defended her. Now he wasn't even speaking to her anymore. Because of a stupid broom!

Hermione swallowed hard to will down the lump in the throat, a sure signal that she would cry any moment. She hadn't spent this much time crying and being miserable since… since never. Never had Hermione been this sad and alone before. During her childhood at the Muggle schools, she had been used to being alone among her peers, and her parents had always been there. And even at the beginning of her first year at Hogwarts, it hadn't been this bad. Because back then she hadn't known how it felt like to have friends. How it was to go to classes and meals together with people who liked her. People who waited for her and were worried about her well-being. Friends who visited her in the hospital wing when she was a cat or petrified.

And now Hermione feared that maybe she would never feel friendship like this again. What if Harry and Ron would never forgive her? What if they ignored her for the rest of their school years?

The heavy lump in her throat made his way back and pressed dangerously against her self-control. She wouldn't cry at the library! Madame Pince was already eyeing her with pity since Hermione was the only student who spent her holidays alone at the library every hour of the day. If she cried in front of the old librarian then surely one of the professors would ask her what was wrong with her.

Determined Hermione packed her things, threw a tight smile in Madame Pince general direction and then left the library. Slowly she made her way through the castle but stopped when she realised that Harry and Ron would probably be at the common room.

In the last three days, Hermione had avoided them. She wasn't strong enough to see their dirty glares and live with them ignoring her. So, she opted for ignoring and avoiding them. If she didn't see them then it would be easier to focus on her homework and to stop thinking about their fight. Or so had been the theory.

The truth - plain and painful - was that Hermione had hoped, deep down in her heart, that maybe Harry and Ron would search for her. That maybe, if she avoided them for a day or two, didn't show up at meals or in the common room, that they would be worried about her. That they would think twice about their fight and search for her. But that hadn't happened. Day three and still she was alone. And she hadn't made it hard to find her. Sitting at the library all day wasn't exactly a good hiding spot.

Hot tears danced on the brim of her eyes and Hermione decided that fresh air would be nice. Maybe a short stroll around the castle, breathing the winter air and feeling the cold. That would cool her down and maybe stop the tears from spilling.

For half an hour or so Hermione wandered aimlessly around the grounds, to the owlery where she patted Hedwig - at least Harry's owl didn't ignore her - and then to the black lake. The weather was wonderful. A crisp cold winter day, snow everywhere, but the sky was clear and the winter sun even warmed her cheeks a bit. It would have been a wonderful day if Hermione wouldn't be able to see the damn Quidditch pitch. A constant reminder of her misery.

"Hermione! Wha' doin' out here? Enjoyin' the weather?" Hagrid came down from the castle, Fang by his side, and looked at Hermione with a sad smile. The news about Buckbeak's trial was still upsetting him visibly.

"Yes, I thought fresh air and a little walk where exactly what I need." Hermione pressed out with a weak smile.

"Wan' some tea? Yeh seem a bit cold." Hagrid offered and Hermione nodded slowly. There was nothing better she had to do anyway and going back to the castle would only mean to either go back to hiding at the library or meet Harry and Ron at Gryffindor tower.

Hermione sat in a nice, comfortable silence in Hagrid's hut while the gamekeeper brewed tea and offered her some of his hard cookies. Hermione nibbled at them out of politeness but even if they had been good, she wouldn't have been able to eat much.

"So, wha's wrong with yeh?" Hagrid slumped down on his massive chair and handed Hermione a giant mug of hot, steaming tea. She took a small sip. The liquid warmed her up from the inside immediately and if felt like the dam she had built around her heart was breaking down. A dam that had been holding back all her sadness and loneliness in the last days.

"Harry and Ron are angry at me." She muttered, relieved to finally tell someone about it. In the letters to her parents, Hermione had pretended that everything was fine and that she enjoyed her holidays at Hogwarts with her friends. She couldn't tell her parents that she had resigned from seeing her family in order to keep Harry company but now was the lonely and miserable one herself. Her parents surely wouldn't be pleased.

"Oh, don' yeh worry. Every'hing will be fine when yeh come back later. Yeh guys can' figh' for long." Hagrid smiled reassuringly.

"I wish it would be like that, but they have been ignoring me since Christmas. They don't talk to me and when they do, they're really mean." A small hiccup escaped Hermione and that was the last straw. Tears were rolling down her cheeks at once and with a quivering voice, she started to tell Hagrid everything about the broom without a card and how Ron was constantly angry at her because of Crookshanks.

"Oh, Hermione… don' worry. They will forgive yeh as soon as they realise how stupid it is ter figh' over such things." Hagrid patted her back soothingly and even Fang snuggled into her side.

"Thank you, Hagrid." Hermione breathed shakily when she finally was able to calm down. She sat with Hagrid for an hour or two after this, talked about his classes and the trial of Buckbeak. Hermione handed Hagrid all the material she had found so far and they started to think about a possible defence strategy for the hippogriff. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon and Hermione temporarily forgot about her problems till it was time to go back to the castle.

"Thank you for this, Hagrid." She hugged the big man and blushed a bit.

"'s no'hing. If yeh wan', yeh can come down for a tea any'ime."

When Hermione arrived at the Great Hall Harry and Ron were already finished with dinner and she was the last of the few students to eat something. Afterwards, she opted for spending the time till curfew at the library and when she came back to Gryffindor Tower that evening the common room was empty and the fire already burned down. No one had waited for her.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione continued her little game of hide and not seek also when the second term started and the other students came back. Now the common room was always full of people, even when she arrived late in the evening, but that didn't change anything about her loneliness. At the meals, Hermione sat beside older students, ate fast and always had a book on the table to bury her nose in.

The loneliness and the obvious treatment from Ron and Harry were one thing that made Hermione miserable. But the workload from her classes was also wearing her down slowly but surely. It became harder and harder each day to use the Time Turner, jump back a few hours and then go to another class. Her days seemed almost endless, which wasn't a good thing since it also made her loneliness endless.

Ginny was the only person besides Hagrid who Hermione talked to currently. But Ginny as a second year had a different time table than Hermione there wasn't much time they could share. And Hermione's workload also didn't allow much leisure time anyway.

Lavender and Parvati, who had become colder and colder since the beginning of the year and their fascination with Divination, became even more hostile this term. Apparently, Hermione hadn't reacted appropriately when Lavender's bunny died and now both of them were quite angry with her and ignored her too. In the beginning, Hermione had thought that it wouldn't make things much worse, since the treatment from Harry and Ron certainly hurt her more but coming to her room and constantly feeling not welcome, that made it worse. Now Hermione didn't even a secure place to recover from her daily struggles anymore.

Between visiting Hagrid and working on Buckbeak's case, using the Time Turner and trying to catch up with her homework Hermione felt like she was drowning in the Black Lake. She was constantly tired and exhausted.

These days Hermione suddenly remembered her soul mark again. And a familiar longing for a soul mate, someone who wouldn't ignore her for keeping him or her save, filled her heart. But also, a slight feeling of guilt spread through her every time she thought like that. Because she only wished for her soul mate when she was lonely and really, what kind of friendship was that, when one only longed for the other in times of need. The last two years Hermione had been perfectly happy without her soul mate and she would survive this with one too. She didn't want her happiness to depend on someone. It was worse enough that she was a wrack while fighting with Harry and Ron.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

When Harry approached Hermione with the Firebolt in his hands and an apologetic smile on his face, Hermione almost cried. She painful wound from being ignored for so long opened up and hurt all over from the hope of finally being able to reconcile. Hermione and Harry had just started a conversation about her classes when Ron bolted down the stairs with a bloody sheet in his hands and destroyed all hope.

And that's when Hermione started to get angry instead of sad. She understood that Harry had been angry because of the Firebolt, really, she got it. She still thought it was stupid but at least he had been angry for something she actually did. But Ron was angry with her for something that was absolutely not her fault. How should she manage to observe Crookshanks 24 hours a day and keep him from doing something that all cats did? It was nature. And really, there wasn't even any proof that it had been Crooks. So, Hermione was back to square one, hide and not seek.

"You know, Hermione, you have to admit, that it's quite possible that Crookshanks ate Scabber. If you just would apologise to Ron for it." Harry started one day and Hermione snapped.

"OK, side with Ron, I knew you would!" She said shrilly. "First the Firebolt, now Scabber, everything's my fault, isn't it! Just leave me alone, Harry, I've got a lot of work to do!" Hermione stormed off to the library, but before she reached her save heaven - because apparently Harry and Ron never found their way to the library without her - she crashed into someone. Her big, heavy book bag slumped down on the floor and half a dozen books spilt out of it.

"Fantastic," Hermione muttered but she felt the lump in her throat grow again. She didn't dare to look up at who she had crashed into and instead leaned down and started to pick up her books. She wasn't keen on talking to anyone right now.

"Merlin, Granger, how do you carry that many books around?" A teasing voice exclaimed and a second later someone was beside her on the floor. Fred handed Hermione carefully book after book and with her eyes cast on the bag she packed everything hasty. If Ron was angry then his brothers were probably too.

"Wait a moment," Fred rummaged in his pocket, producing his wand from it, and then started to charm her bag. "There you go. Feather-light-charm makes it easier to carry all that stuff. Should hold a while but if you need a refresh just holler, okay?"

"Thank you," she stated primly.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Fred asked a truthfully worried gaze in his eyes and no sign of his usual joking.

"Yes, I just have a lot to do, homework and everything." Hermione avoided his eyes and started to walk towards the library again.

"Oi, Hermione, tell me if Ron and Harry don't get their head out of each other's arses soon. I have prank or two that will help with that." Fred called after her, mischief back in his voice, and Hermione only rolled her eyes as she waved him off. But still, a smile tucked at her lips. The first real one since weeks. Who would have thought that it would be Fred Weasley that finally lifted her spirits a bit?

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"Okay, I think if we convince the judges that it was actually Malfoy's fault for not listening in class we have a good case. Since pride is in the nature of hippogriffs no can judge them for acting on it." Hermione and Hagrid a good plan, brilliant really. Hermione had researched everything about trials against creatures and the department for the regulation and control of magical creatures and was hopeful that Hagrid had all he needed. He just needed to keep a cool head.

"Saw Harry with 'is new broom, so every'hing's good again between yeh?" Hagrid handed her another tea as Hermione sorted through their papers.

"No, Ron lost his rat and now he is angry at  _me_  because he thinks Crookshanks ate Scabber. Says I should have kept a better eye on my cat." Hermione sniffed bit she didn't cry. She had done that often enough during her countless visits with Hagrid and for once she wanted to be strong.

"He's angry a' a cat fer chasing rats?" Hagrid let out a barking laugh. "Well, tha' some'hing's new! Mad a' a cat fer chasing rats." Hagrid's laugh was so joyous that even Hermione let out a chuckle.

"Don' yeh worry. It will be all good in the end."

"I really want to believe that," Hermione murmured into her tea.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"I probably should be angry with you." Hermione scratched Crookshanks behind his ears. The big cat only purred loudly as an answer and turned himself into a ball on Hermione's stomach.

"You really did eat Scabbers, didn't you? Bad cat." Hermione sighed. Well, talking to a cat, that's how far it had gotten with her. Crookshank meowed accusingly when she stopped scratching him and with another sigh, she started again.

She couldn't be angry at the half-kneazle. He didn't do anything wrong and was unable to feel any remorse or a guilty conscience. He was just a cat and did what all cats did, as Hagrid had put it so well.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

With a heavy heart, Hermione decided to watch the Quidditch game with Neville. She really didn't want to. She had so much to do. Homework… so much homework. Even with the Time Turner, she was getting less and less sleep.

While the After Party was in full swing Hermione had opted to sit at a corner table and tried to catch up with her work. Yes, she could have gone to the library instead or her dorm room, but she still wanted to be part of it. She wasn't brave enough to celebrate with the other since Ron was still shooting her dirty glares at every possible occasion and made hateful remarks about Scabber.

"Come on, Hermione, come and have some food," Harry said when he approached her. He had made small attempts to reconcile with her but Hermione was still angry at him for siding with Ron and hurt about the ignoring because of his Firebolt.

"I can't, Harry, I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read! Anyway… he doesn't want me to join in." And as if Ron wanted to prove her right, he started to loudly inform the whole common room about Scrabbers' death,  _again_. And Hermione just burst into tears. The exhaustion and the fight finally made her snap. The hard self-control she had had over herself so that she wouldn't cry in front of other people finally ran out and with her book under the arm she stormed out of the common room.

Library… or Hagrid's… somewhere where no one would seek her out.

"Ouch!" Hermione crashed onto the floor as she - again - had run into someone.

"We have to stop meeting like this, Granger." A chuckling Fred, who was also on the floor, sweets scattered around him, said. He offered his hand to help her up but she declined, grabbed her book and started to get away but Fred grabbed her arm.

"What's wrong?" He mustered her tearstained face with a worried gaze.

"Nothing," Hermione tried to get away but found that he wouldn't let go.

"You're not crying because of Ron, are you? Because he's so not worth it. As I said, a prank or two and he will be thinking straight again. Just say the word." Hermione knew it was meant as a joke but Fred sounded dead serious and there was no smile to betray his words.

"I will. For now, I just need some time alone. Clear my head." Hermione tried a smile, one that apparently didn't impress Fred very much.

"Okay…" he answered slowly like he was trying to think about what he wanted to do next. "Here, take this. And when you need someone to set Ron straight or just to talk too," he blushed, "then I'll be there." In his hands was a large bar of chocolate from Honeydukes and Hermione suppressed her urge to scold him for leaving the castle to get sweets.

"Thank you, Fred." She took the chocolate gingerly and hoped he would leave it like that.

"Who says I'm not George?" The twin laughed, a challenge in his voice.

"I say it since I'm able to tell you apart for a year now." Hermione grinned at his confused face and then started to walk away as fast as she could.

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?" Fred called after her but she only laughed. A full laugh that made her forget all her worries for one delicious moment as she sat in the library and ate the chocolate secretly.

That night was the best Hermione slept for weeks or would have been if it hadn't been for Ron waking up the entire tower with his screams and the news that Sirius Black managed to get inside the Gryffindor Tower and the boys' dorm room.


	8. A Nervous Heart

The weeks after Sirius Black second - and slightly more successful - attempt of breaking into Hogwarts and getting to Harry were spent under constant stress for Hermione. She worried every second that something might happen again.

Obviously, Hogwarts wasn't safe! No matter how he did it, Sirius Black apparently knew his way around in the castle and he knew how to avoid the Dementors. Nothing and no one could apparently stop him and Hermione was constantly worrying about that. And she worried if she should tell the teachers about the other things she knew.

Should she tell them about the map which helped Harry to get outside the castle? Should she tell them that he had already snuck outside the castle once and was likely to do it again?

Merlin knew she didn't want to. She didn't want to be the bad guy again. Didn't want to give Harry and Ron even more reason to hate her. Plus, she didn't want to get Harry into trouble. With the Firebolt it had been different. Hermione had known then that Harry wouldn't get in trouble for receiving a gift. But with the map and the Hogsmeade weekends, it was different. Harry was breaking the rules deliberately and it worried Hermione how he would get punished for that.

With a heavy heart, Hermione decided to stay silent. She wasn't sure if this was an act of bravery or cowardice. One part of her mind demanded to tell Professor McGonagall - Harry's and Ron's reaction be damned - because in the end bravery was to do the right thing without fearing the consequences. The other part of mind insisted that bravery also meant staying by her friend's side.

 _When Neville was in my place two years ago he decided like a true Gryffindor_ , Hermione sighed. Back then Neville had tried to stop them to get to the stone, despite the fear of losing three friends and despite the fear of fighting them all alone.

In order to keep her mind from worrying Hermione visited Hagrid one last time before Buckbeak's trial. They spent a whole afternoon with practising his speech. Hermione helped him to learn it by heart, told him how to pronounce certain words the right way and asked him every question the judges might ask to practice his reactions. All in all, Hermione was quite pleased with their joined effort and confident that Hagrid had a good defence.

With that problem taking care of Hermione only had Harry to worry about. And Merlin, he gave her reason to! The idiot actually thought about visiting Hogsmeade illegally even after Sirius Black had proved that the Dementors didn't keep him out of the castle - twice! Who in his right mind would bring himself in danger by leaving the castle again?

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione was bent over her usual desk in the Gryffindor common room and tried to finish an essay for Ancient Runes. It was the last one she had to do tonight and then she only needed to read something for Potions, and then maybe a bit of light reading before she headed to bed. Or maybe she needed to use the Time Turner… just for half an hour so that she could get more sleep this night. Slowly but surely she was reaching the end of her strength. And with that thought in mind, Hermione nodded off, halfway through her essay.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

A week later Hermione awoke with a start when she realised it was the Hogsmeade Saturday and she had actually overslept. She had planned to be up early so that she could follow Ron through the village. She was absolutely sure that Harry would sneak into Hogsmeade again, against all logical reasons, and get himself into danger. Hermione planned to follow Ron and Harry, who would be under the invisibility cloak probably, around to keep him safe. Keep them both safe.

Since Sirius Black had attacked Ron's curtains instead of Harry's Hermione had nightmares about him coming back to take revenge on Ron for ruining his plans. It was a vicious circle. The more Hermione worried, the lesser she slept, and the lesser she slept the more she worried because her brain started to come up with more and more ridiculous reason to worry about.

 _"So now you're trying to get Harry expelled. Haven't you done enough damage this year?"_ Ron's words from a week ago still rang in Hermione's head. It was the only reason why she hadn't told anyone about the marauder's map.

"Why didn't you wake me?" She yelled as she jumped out of bed and grabbed fresh clothes. Lavender and Parvati were changing into their winter cloaks and had apparently already eaten their breakfast.

"Since when are we your personal alarm?" Lavender snapped, but Parvati rolled her eyes.

"We didn't wake you on purpose." She explained a little bit friendlier than Lavender. "Hermione, you look dreadful. You come back to the dorm room way after midnight and you are up only hours later. You barely eat anymore. All you do is study. That can't be healthy." The Indian girl seemed to actually worry, but Hermione had her own problems. Hasty she dressed and only managed to follow Ron discreetly because she skipped breakfast.

She followed Ron, who was suspiciously alone, around half of the day. He went to Honeydukes, probably to meet Harry, and to Zonko's, where they spent an awful lot of time. Hermione tried to keep an eye on the shop's door from outside, but when a large, foreign owl landed on her shoulder, she became distracted. Carefully she took the letter and opened it. Hermione recognised Hagrid's messy handwriting immediately and even before she had read the text she knew the outcome. The tear stains on the paper were enough.

For a small eternity, she looked on the paper, read the text over and over again, her mind racing with ideas of how she could help Hagrid out of this. Good Godric, she needed to do something. There would be an appeal, of course. But what could they to different? How could they convince the judges otherwise when they had already ruled against Buckbeak once? All hope left Hermione as she thought about how Malfoy's father probably had scared or bribed everyone just to get his way.

When Hermione finally remembered Harry and Ron, she looked up just in time to see Ron running to the castle. Instantly she knew something had happened and followed him, but much slower. She didn't feel well enough to run.

On her way through the castle she already heard the rumours that Harry's had been seen in Hogsmeade by Draco Malfoy. That dumb git!

Hermione finally met Ron and Harry in the corridor in front of the common room. Ron looked, as usual, these days, angry and started to attack her with his remarks a soon as possible. But Hermione wasn't in the mood for fighting or avoiding them.

"I just thought you ought to know… Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeak is going to be executed." She handed them the letter and carefully explained how she had no hope anymore for getting Buckbeak off the hook.

"…nothing will have changed." She ended and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, it will," said Ron fiercely. "You won't have to do all the work alone this time, Hermione. I'll help." And there he was again. There was her best friend again, loyal till the end, who looked at her with no ill thought. Without hesitation, Hermione flung her arms around Ron's neck and broke down completely. She sobbed into his chest like a little child.

"Ron, I'm really, really sorry about Scabbers…" She sobbed. She had wanted to say it much sooner, but the fighting between them had prevented her from doing it. She had been too proud.

"Oh - well - he was old. And he was a bit useless. You never know, Mum and Dad might get me a new owl now." He muttered. Hermione realised instantly that he didn't apologise to her for his behaviour in the last weeks but let it go for now. She was tired of fighting.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The following Monday was the first day Hermione, Harry and Ron were able to talk with Hagrid during his class. Hermione didn't know it when she woke up that morning, but this Monday should be a very adventurous day for her.

The day started normal enough. She woke up, dressed and then went down to breakfast with Harry and Ron. For the first time in weeks, she sat down beside them and actually enjoyed her breakfast again. No book beside her during eating, just light conversation with her friends. From down the table, she saw the twins looking at her and Fred even winked at her, like he wanted to say _Told you so._

Things went down a crazy route when Malfoy and his terrible little friends started to laugh about Hagrid. Somehow all off her self-control went flying out of the window when she saw the blond git laughing and sneering at the man who had been so nice to her. With one large step Hermione was in front of Malfoy and then - with a satisfying SMACK - she slapped him across the face as hard as she could.

"Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul - you evil -" With one smooth movement she drew her wand while Harry, Ron, Crabbe and Goyle just stared at her. With a shocked expression, Malfoy turned away and ran off with his two minions.

"Harry, you better beat him at the Quidditch finale!" She almost yelled as she followed the boys to the castle, both looking at her like they didn't recognise who she was. But seconds before Hermione entered the Charms classroom she remembered that she had to go to Arithmancy first. Swiftly she hid behind a tapestry - she was getting better at finding and using the countless hiding spots in Hogwarts - and turned the Time Turner half an hour. It gave her the time to run to the Gryffindor Tower and get her books.

Arithmancy was brilliant and interesting as ever but Hermione was busy with thinking about Malfoy and how unfair it was that someone like him got an innocent creature killed. She was so busy with fuming and raging that the end of the class surprised her. Hermione realised that she hadn't listened at all and would need to read all by herself to make up for the lost time. Sighing she turned the Time Turner again, three hours this time - one hour to read her Arithmancy book and two for going to Charms - and hurried back to the common room. What a stressful day.

For half an hour Hermione was almost alone in the common room, which meant she would have been able to read without interruption, but unfortunately, the exhaustion was slowly getting to her. And then Fred and George entered the room. They stared at her with suspicion.

"I won't ask no questions if you don't ask me any." She finally interrupted the silence.

"Deal!" Both twins answered with a smirk. But instead of going off their way and doing what they had planned to, they sat down beside her. Fred on the left and George to the right.

"So, little Miss Granger is actually skipping classes?" Fred asked with a smirk.

"We have to inform you, Hermione, that you're doing it wrong when you're using that precious time to study for another class." George frowned at her big Arithmancy book.

"I thought we had a deal?" Hermione scowled.

"I reckon you are trying to do too much." Fred ignored her remark. "Keep going like this and you will go nuts before the end of the year."

"And wait till O.W.L.s come around. You will be a sure case for St. Mungo's by then." George nodded.

"I will not!" Hermione looked them down sternly. "I'm more than able to handle the workload. I was just distracted today."

"Yeah…" Fred nodded slowly and then handed her a small, pink bonbon. "Here, take a candy and a deep breath. You look like you need a break."

"I don't have ti-"

"Five minutes. You can even scold us if you want. But take five minutes off and then you go back to work." Reluctantly Hermione took the bonbon and ate it. It tasted sweet, but also a bit spicy and almost melted on Hermione's tongue. Instantly her skin tickled a bit and an odd feeling of calm spread through her chest.

"Uhmmm, what did I eat?" She asked drowsily.

"Just a little invention of ours. Helps you relax." She heard Fred, but he sounded far away.

Hermione woke up when Harry and Ron came to the common room, searching for her because she had missed Charms. With a beating heart, she jumped up and ran for the Charms classroom. Merlin, she had actually missed a class! She needed to apologise to Professor Flitwick.

"Professor, I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry for missing class. That has never happened before and…" Hermione drew a much-needed breath but Professor Flitwick only smiled.

"It's quite okay, Miss Granger. But may I ask, how this happened when you have a Time Turner?"

"Oh…" Only now Hermione remembered that she could have used the Time-Turner to make up for her missing class. She had been so surprised and nervous about falling asleep that she actually forgot about her Time Turner.

"Well, that's what I thought." The man smiled good willing at her. "Miss Granger, may I give you some advice? It's quite noble of you to try and learn as much as you can while you have the opportunity to do so, but you should also be aware of your own capacities. Not many students are able to manage such a workload, especially if there are subjects they don't actually like or aren't good at."

"Thank you…" Hermione grabbed her bag and with racing thought she went up to the Divination classroom. Was Flitwick implying that she wasn't good at Charms? Or did he believe she didn't like his class?

When Hermione entered the classroom, she saw the crystal balls on the tables and rolled her eyes. Why was it that Divination always felt like wannabe magic to her? Like muggles who pretended that they could see the future and stripped others of their money for half-truths. She listened to Trelawney's nonsense for almost an hour and tried to see something in the foggy crystal ball. The only good thing was that now she could laugh at it with Harry and Ron again. But then the barmy Professor started on Harry again with the Grim.

"Oh, for goodness' sake. Not that ridiculous Grim again!" Instantly the Professor surveyed Hermione with clear anger and when she opened her mouth Hermione knew it wouldn't be nice.

"I am sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class, my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly Mundane."

 _Mundane._ Hermione Granger had been called a lot of things - mean things - by a lot of different people, even teachers. But never in her whole life had she been called _mundane._ For a second there was the urge to start a discussion with the Professor, to proof with clear logic that Divination was nonsense _hocus-pocus_. But then she remembered Professor Flitwick's earlier words.

"Fine" Hermione decided suddenly. "Fine! I give up! I'm leaving!" And with that she grabbed her things and rushed out the door, a feeling of freedom spreading through her chest.

Later when Hermione was alone in her room she found a small note in her bag.

_Hermione, the Bonbon you tested was a prototype. Don't worry, we tested on ourselves first! But apparently, the dosage is a bit strong for someone as tiny as you. Should have sent you daydreaming only for a few minutes. Please don't hex us._

Hermione chuckled as she read the note. The emotional high from dropping Divination still had her in an excellent mood and she decided to forgive Fred and George, even when it itched her to scold them for using her as an unsuspecting test subject.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Even after dropping Divination Hermione was head over heels drowning in homework and study material. The finals were still far away but still, the teachers gave them so much to do that almost everyone seemed to work constantly.

The third years were working like crazy but no one was more stressed than Percy Weasley. The oldest Weasley in the castle was in his final year and had to do his N.E.W.T.s this summer. The stress was visible in his eyes and he seemed even more tired than Hermione. Not for the first time this year she asked herself if Percy maybe also used a Time Turner. But if he did that would mean that he too had one since his third year and the thought alone about living like this for another four years made Hermione sick.

The thought about dropping another subject and having a normal schedule again was more and more tempting to her. The problem was, she couldn't decide which subject she should drop. She loved Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, but she couldn't drop Care for Magical Creature. She couldn't do that to Hagrid. But dropping Muggle Studies felt like a betrayal to her parents. And so, nothing changed and she tried her best to get everything done.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

When the Quidditch final Gryffindor against Slytherin was finally there Hermione took a break like anyone else. She wanted them to win. She needed them to win! She wanted that ugly smirk wiped of Malfoy's face. Godric, in the last weeks she had suppressed the urge to hex him in the halls or corridors more than once.

In general, the mood in the school was like a fever. Everyone was anticipating the game and the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin was worse than ever. Oliver had ordered the whole house to protect the Quidditch team at all times of the day. No one was allowed to be out alone and so the third years had made it their mission to surround Harry.

Oliver himself was always around Percy. What better protection against pranks and hexes than the head boy himself? Katie Bell, the only fourth year on the team, also was always around her peers. Some guy named Cormac McLaggan even tried to follow her to the girl's bathroom while pretending to protect her.

The Twins, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, all on the same year, were their own little protection group. There were never seen without each other or Lee Jordan. Not that anyone would actually try to attack the twins. No one was stupid enough to get on the bad side of the two pranksters. Hermione guessed it was the main reason why Alicia and Angelina stayed around them.

On the evening before the big match, the whole house was in a nervous and at the same time excited state. Some were already celebrating, some were discussing the upcoming match. No one seemed to talk or do anything else. While Hermione and Ginny were in front of the fire with Crookshanks - Ron was ignoring the cat - Harry and Ron were trying to play a match of chess to relax Harry. Oliver Wood meanwhile was playing with a miniature model of a Quidditch pitch and Hermione thought that maybe the captain was really getting crazy. Or maybe he had already crossed this line and was downright insane?

Fred and George instead had opted to be the life of the party by being louder and more exuberant than ever. They were throwing firecrackers in every direction, made cheesy jokes and tried to entertain Angelina, Alicia and Katie, who were the most relaxed members of the team. The girls seemed to look almost forward to the game and Hermione easily saw why. They were a good team, those three. The chasers knew their teamwork was their biggest strength for scoring points.

It didn't take long till Oliver send the team to bed and slowly the common room emptied. Hermione was - as always - the last one to stay up and read. Since it had been so loud the whole day she wanted to catch up with some of her books before she went to bed. Around midnight, however, her plans were interrupted when one of the twins stumbled into the common room.

"Hermione?" Fred asked confused. "Why are you still up?"

"I could ask you the same. Don't you have an important game tomorrow?" She narrowed her eyes at him. If she didn't know any better, she would say Fred was nervous. But that was impossible. The twins were never nervous.

"Ah this, good that you remind me. I had almost forgotten." Fred grinned as he gestured to the red and gold flags everywhere. "I only wanted to get something to eat from the kitchens. I didn't eat much at dinner." His ears turned red for some reason. Maybe he actually was nervous about the game.

"Well, you can have some of these." Hermione offered him a box of cupcakes her mother had sent her this morning. There were far too much for her alone and she refused to share with Harry and Ron. Hermione was still a bit miffed about their fight and so the only person who got some till now had been Ginny.

"Really? Thanks!" Fred flopped down beside and grabbed one of the little cakes. For a while there was silence. Fred ate and Hermione read in front of the dim fire.

"Dropping Divination, huh?" Fred asked after a while. "Quite a show from what I heard. Tell me, little Miss Granger, how did it feel to talk back to a teacher? To be naughty?" The grin on his face made Hermione roll her eyes.

"Shouldn't you go to bed already?"

"Is that a proposition?" Fred countered, grinning even wider when Hermione blushed. He felt how her face grew hotter and hotter and knew that her cheeks, ears and neck probably were bright red.

"No, you git." She pressed through her lips and quickly packed her books. "Well, have fun staying up all night. But when you fall off your damn broom I will be the first to laugh at you." Hermione frowned when Fred laughed and stormed off. When she arrived at her dorm room her face was still bright red and she felt terribly embarrassed. She didn't know how to cope with innuendos.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The game against Slytherin was easily described in one word: bloody. The Slytherin players were all big, bulky guys - except Malfoy - and did their best to knock the Gryffindors off their brooms. Hermione wasn't sure if she had ever seen a game so full of fouls like this. Madame Hooch had to blow her whistle every few minutes and gave so many penalties that Hermione slowly lost track.

But one of the most outrageous fouls happened when the Slytherin captain Flint almost knocked Angelina off her broom without her even holding the quaffle. Madame Hooch, of course, gave a penalty shot to Gryffindor, but Fred was a bit faster with his personal revenge. With an angry, red face he threw his beaters bat full force against Flint's head, earning a penalty against Gryffindor himself. But Fred didn't seem to care about that at all.

Hermione witnessed the whole scene with a tight feeling in her stomach. She wanted to scold Fred for behaving that way and getting a penalty against Gryffindor, on the other hand, she was enraged about the foul against Angelina. She liked the older girl. Angelina was tough and cool, a role model. And she was insanely beautiful. Even up there in the sky, with wild hair and dishevelled clothes, she looked cool, strong and pretty at the same time.

Hermione watched how Fred ruffled Angelina's hair and talked with, probably to ask if she was okay. They both laughed on their brooms and Angelina waved Fred away, but Hermione noticed how the twins stayed close to the chaser for the rest of the game, watching over her whenever a bludger or one of the Slytherins came close.

When the game ended with Harry catching the snitch and Gryffindor - finally - winning the House Cup, Hermione stormed off with the rest of her classmates. They all wanted to congratulate the team, especially Harry. Enthusiastically Hermione hugged Harry and then George, but when she turned to congratulate Fred she stopped herself. He had one arm leisurely around Angelina's shoulders and laughed about something she said. Alicia and Katie stood by them, but Hermione didn't want to interrupt him. And for some reason, she felt stupid for thinking about hugging him. Suddenly it was embarrassing to her for even having that idea. Confused Hermione followed the rest of her house back to the common room where a loud party would be held for the rest of the night.

Hermione tried to enjoy the night like everyone else but her nervously beating heart made it difficult to let loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like the story so far :) I'm keeping mainly to canon and try to rediscover the books from a different perspective. But here and there, there will be new things or some things will happen differently. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!


	9. Confusion

The weeks after the Quidditch party were filled with learning, learning and -oh! - learning for Hermione. She was buried in parchment and books and had occupied one table in the common room as her own private study place. And no one - no one! - was allowed to move her study materials.

Hermione slowly felt like she was going crazy, but still, she was a bit thankful for the intense study period. It helped her to ignore the confusing feeling in her chest whenever she saw Fred and Angelina together in the common room or the Great Hall. And she saw them quite often. Maybe it was because she was now more aware of them or maybe the two friends actually spent more time together. Hermione wasn't sure and she tried hard not to think about it too much. It just distracted her from her school works.

When the last day of the finals was over Hermione almost felt like a whole mountain was lifted off her shoulders. All the learning and reading and writing were finally over for the school year. She couldn't wait for the holidays! She needed some time at home with her parents without all this stress. And she needed to think about her classes. Four more years till graduation… did she really want to do this every year?

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The day Buckbeak's execution was planned for the last day of their finals. Hermione, Harry and Ron went down to Hagrid's hut with the intention to help their big friends through this hard time. They wanted to be there for him because honestly no one really believed anymore that the hippogriff would get off the sentence. They all expected an execution.

What they hadn't expected was to find Scabbers in one of Hagrid's milk jugs and a big black dog kidnapping Ron into the Shrieking Shack. Hermione also didn't expect her cat to be friends with said dog, who was no other than Sirius Black himself, Animagus and convicted murderer.

Hermione was astonished by the intelligence of Crookshanks while Sirius Black explained how he had befriended her half-kneazle - who had seen through Scabbers façade immediately - and stole the passwords from Neville for Black. Hermione almost passed out when she realised that Ron had been right. Her cat had targeted Scabbers specifically… But she would be damned to admit that ever. The git still owed her an apology for behaving like she was the enemy.

What Hermione also hadn't expected was to be confronted with hundreds of Dementors at the lake later that night, when Professor Lupin was off running in the woods and Professor Snape was knocked out. The only grown-ups able to help them chase away the dark creatures!

Hermione sat beside Harry on the ground while he tried to summon his Patronus, but he wasn't successful. She even tried it herself, but with no luck. No matter how hard she studied or how smart she was, magic like this couldn't be learned with smarts alone. It had to come from the heart, Hermione realised, as she tried it again and again and again. But the feeling of angst and cold and sadness made her body heavy and her heart empty. No happy thought was left in her and as she slowly drifted off she didn't remember the eyes of the Basilisk in her small hand-mirror. Instead, the cold treatment of Harry and Ron was the worst memory the Dementors left her with.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

When Hermione woke up at the hospital wing later she had no idea how much time had passed. It was still dark outside, so it couldn't be that long. Her first instinct was to jump up and demand to know what happened. But her body was still tired.

Slowly Hermione sat up and looked around. Ron was asleep on the right side of her in a hospital bed, his leg in hard plaster and an empty bottle of sleeping potion in the bedside. Harry on her left side was also asleep.

Suddenly harsh whispers came from the slightly open door and Hermione identified one as Professor Snape immediately. Quietly she turned to face Harry and pretended to be asleep again.

"What amazes me most it the behaviour of the Dementors… you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

"No, Minister. By the time I had come around they were heading back to their position at the entrances." Hermione almost betrayed her sleeping façade. The minister was here!

"Extraordinary. And yet Back, and Harry, and the girl -"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers and brought them all straight back to the castle." Slowly the words sunk in and Hermione understood what this meant. They would still give the kiss to Sirius. They didn't know the story. No one would believe Sirius Black and three children…

In this second Harry opened his eyes but his facial expression told Hermione that he too had listened. Instantly Harry tried to start a discussion with Snape and Fudge about Sirius, but no one wanted to listen to them. Hermione sat beside him, tried to get a word in, but nothing seemed to sway their way.

"I think that's enough." Professor Dumbledore walked in, a good-smiled on his face. In his usual friendly way, he ushered the Minister and Professor Snape out of the room.

"Well, what we need is more time." The headmaster smiled at Hermione.

"Oh!"

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

After their successful rescue mission, Hermione and Harry spent a wonderful night at the hospital wing. Ron was out cold thanks to the sleeping potion, but Hermione and Harry had a lot of fun with eating chocolate and silently congratulating each other for a job well done. In hushed whispers, Hermione told Harry about her year with the Time Turner. How she had jumped back in time several times a day.

The next day, when Ron's leg was fully healed and Hermione and Harry were sick of chocolate, all three of them were released from the hospital wing. It was also the last Hogsmeade weekend of the school year, but the three friends decided to rather take a walk around the Black lake then smuggling Harry to Hogsmeade again. Even Harry and Ron agreed that it was far too risky to go since Professor Snape was still angry about Sirius' escape. Snape would probably love to catch Harry doing something illegal just to get some kind of revenge.

It was during their walk that they heard about the resign of Professor Lupin when they met Hagrid. Harry, of course, ran off as fast as possible to speak with his father's old friend and left Hermione alone with Ron. They hadn't been alone since the day Harry had discovered the _truth_ about Sirius Black in _The Three Broomsticks_ before Christmas and Ron and Hermione had talked about how they didn't want him to do something stupid or dangerous. A month of fighting laid in between that and Hermione kind of was lost. For the first time, she didn't know how to behave around her best friend.

On one hand, she wanted to talk with him about the fight, about her hurt feelings, and about his behaviour. Hermione was ready to admit that she was also at fault, but Ron's harsh words and his rude behaviour needed to be addressed. On the other hand, she was glad that everything was kind of back to normal and she didn't want to endanger their peace.

"Want to go back to the castle? I think dinner will be ready soon." Ron pulled Hermione out of her thoughts. Silently they made their way back to the Great Hall. Dinner was served the moment they arrived and Ron eagerly filled his plate.

 _Well, seems like we will just ignore the awkwardness_ , Hermione thought. She sat beside Ginny, who was talking with Colin Creevey about how they couldn't wait for their first Hogsmeade trip next year. A few minutes later Harry arrived.

"Snape rated Lupin out. Told the Slytherins about him being a werewolf. Lupin resigned before the angry parents of them could get the chance to send letters to Dumbledore." Harry explained with a whisper. Their discussion was interrupted when the students from Hogsmeade came back and arrived loudly at the Great Hall. In minutes the Gryffindor table was filled with excited students.

"Wotcher!" Fred and George sat down next to Harry, while Angelina and Alicia sat down beside Hermione. The four fifth years were soon deep into a discussion about who was likely to become the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain next year. A discussion Harry and Ron eagerly joined, while Hermione only half-listened.

"Oh, come on, Ange, everyone knows it will be you." Fred smiled at Angelina. An honest smile without any teasing or joking in his voice. George and Alicia nodded.

"No one is better at commanding George and me around. And I can think of no one else I would want to command me around." Now Fred winked and Hermione watched how the tall girl beside her blushed. Not even Angelina's dark skin could save her from showing her embarrassment. Hermione's heart clenched a bit but she pushed the feeling aside. Something was wrong with her since the Quidditch final.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

On the train ride back to London Hermione, Ron and Harry had had the chance to get a compartment alone for the three of them. They still had a lot to talk about. Sirius Black, Professor Lupin, Buckbeak and the next school year in general. Ron invited the two of them to the Burrow over the summer for the Quidditch World Cup. Even Hermione, who wasn't a big fan of the sport, was eager to go and witness this part of the magical culture. She would be able to meet witches and wizards from around the world!

Hermione also told her friend that she had decided to give the Time Turner back. She explained that he had dropped Muggle Studies and now had a normal schedule again.

"I can't believe you didn't tell. We're supposed to be your friends." Ron sulked. The news that Hermione had had a Time Turner for almost a year had hit him pretty badly. But Hermione failed to feel sorry for that. She bit back a comment about them not behaving like friends for a big part of the year.

She also tried to be not too overjoyed with the news that Sirius indeed had been the one to send Harry the Firebolt when the letter from Harry's godfather arrived with a small, over-motivated owl. When they finally arrived in London Hermione was glad to be home with her parents for the first time since her first year. She had a lot to think about, especially her friendship with Ron and Harry.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione spent the first two weeks of her summer with her parents on the French Rivera. It were two wonderful weeks filled days laying at the beach, enjoying the sun, eating ice cream, evening discovering the small shops and local restaurants, and shopping souvenirs. It was two weeks where Hermione for once completely forgot about Hogwarts, magic, and the painful times during her third year.

But once the Grangers all arrived back in London and her parents had to work again Hermione was left alone with her thoughts. She tried to keep herself busy with reading, strolling through bookshops, and sunbathing in her garden. Once in a while, she would send a care package with food and sweets to Harry, who was apparently being starved by his terrible relatives because his cousin had to lose weight.

"Hermione Granger! Is that really you?" Hermione slowly opened her eyes. She laid on a sun chair in her parents' garden and was just about to fall asleep. In the neighbouring garden stood Patricia Summers, her childhood frenemy. Hermione and Patricia had been friends in kindergarten before Patricia realised that Hermione wasn't quite like other children and deemed her boring. Sometime during primary school, Patricia's parents had divorced and Patricia had moved away with her mother. Her father still lived with his new girlfriend in the house next to the Grangers.

"Hey Patricia, how are you?"

"Not good, my soon-to-be-stepmonster is harassing me. She wants me to spend more time outside the house." Patricia rolled her eyes. She was just like Hermione remembered her. Tall and lanky with straight black hair and an arrogant smile. Even as a small child Patricia had had the ability to seem superior to everyone.

"Well, the weather is quite nice." Hermione waved at the bright, blue sky and then reached for her book. Thankfully it was a Muggle novel and not one of her books from Hogwarts.

"Too right," Patricia grinned and then jumped over the small fence. "Can I have some?" She gestured at Hermione's glass, filled with cooled butterbeer, and emptied the glass without waiting for an answer.

"Wow, that's good stuff. Where do I get that?"

"France and that was the rest of my last bottle." Hermione glared at her old _friend_. She wanted to get rid of Patricia Summers and soon as possible but she was too polite to just say it outright.

"Too bad," the other girl shrugged: "So, I met Daniel Winston last week when I went to Marcy's birthday party. You remember Marcy, she went to primary school with us, and we kept contact after I moved." Without taking the time to even breathe Patricia proceeded to tell Hermione all the new gossip about their old classmates. Who was dating who and who was now hot and who not. Hermione assumed that Patricia was actually really bored and had nothing better to do since Hermione was normally on the _not-hot-list_ and therefore not interesting to Patricia.

"So, Hermione, what's new with you?" A glint in the other girl's eyes showed Hermione that everything she said now would be the latest gossip. No matter how uninteresting Hermione was as a person to most of her former classmates.

"Not much. I'm at a boarding school for most the year." Hermione answered. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't tell Patricia about Hogwarts.

"Oh yeah, the super prestigious boarding school for specially gifted children. I heard about that." Patricia's voice was filled with annoyance. "You know, it's not a surprise, really. You were always so… smart and always had your nose in a book. Are all the students at your school like that? Sounds terribly boring."

"No, not at all." Hermione smiled involuntarily as she remembered the fun she had had in the last years and all her adventures.

"Hu? What was that?" Patricia frowned.

"What?"

"That smile! Out with juicy details."

"Well, it's just that some of the… gifted students at my school may be smart, but that doesn't mean that they are well-behaved and studious." Hermione grinned and winked at Patricia. Now she actually had some fun with riling her up.

"Hm, so you say," Patricia slowly let her eyes wander over Hermione's body like she was seeing her - really seeing her - for the first time. "You know, you're kind of different from before. You're still a bookworm and that hair, God, you should do something about it, and how someone with Dentists as parents can have such teeth is beyond me, but you're different. More confident?"

"I try to take that as a compliment," Hermione answered coolly.

"Oh, there is this really, really hot guy at my new school. I tell you, you will never find someone more handsome than him." A deep sigh escaped Patricia as she changed the subject without any warning. "Any good-looking boys at your school? I mean, smart and hot is the goal, isn't it?"

The question caught Hermione off guard and for a split-second, the image of Fred Weasley flitted through her mind. Well, it made sense. All the girls she knew said that the twins were handsome.

 _But you only thought of Fred, not Fred-and-George_ , a small voice giggled deep inside of her. With as much force as possible Hermione pushed that thought aside and smiled at Patricia.

"Yeah, I suppose there are some. Now, if you excuse me." Hermione gestured at her book and finally managed to get rid of the girl. For the rest of the holidays, she didn't see Patricia again and she was quite glad about it.


	10. A Nervous Flutter

"Good God, Hermione, would you please open the door? I want to know if it fits properly." Her mother tapped against the door of the small changing room while Hermione stared at her reflection in the large mirror.

Hermione and her mother were on the last shopping trip before Hermione would spend the last two weeks of the holidays at the Burrow. Hermione's mother insisted that her daughter needed a few sets of new clothes, especially new underwear and bras. Hermione wasn't so sure about that. Till now she had only worn soft bralettes without a wire and those had been fine. But now her mum insisted that Hermione needed _real_ bras, a lot of them since who knew how much her breast would grow during the new school year.

Hermione inspected herself in the mirror again. She wore a bra in a soft blue with a tiny bit of lace and matching panties. It looked… okay? Maybe even good? Maybe she was just self-conscious. During the summer holidays, her body had changed quite a bit.

Her waist was getting slimmer - or was it that her hips were getting wider? And her breast had grown. Hermione could clearly see the changes in her figure and how she grew up to become a woman. Maybe other people didn't see it, but Hermione was well aware. And that made her a bit insecure, an annoying new character trait. Hermione had never been insecure about her body before, she didn't give a damn about her looks normally. She had never minded her hair or her clothes - only her teeth were a sore spot. But now she constantly thought about how she should dress so that she looked appropriate. She didn't want to show off her new curves.

"Hermione! I swear, I will come in if I have to." Her mother threatened.

"Then come in! I will surely not come out there half naked." Hermione growled back and she herself realised, that she sounded like a stubborn child.

"There are only women here." A huff escaped her mother from the other side of the door.

"Well, I don't want strangers to see me in only my underwear." Hermione hissed, but then her mother simply opened the door with one swift move.

"MUM!" Hermione clasped her arm in front of her body.

"Don't be so dramatic. Let me see. How is it in the back? Too tight? And the cups?" Her mother expertly started to muster the fitting of the bra while Hermione watched herself blush in the mirror.

"Mum…"

"Don't Mum me, young lady. You have to get good underwear now. You won't be back till next summer and you yourself said that there are no shops for bras at this village, what is it called? Hogsheade?"

"Hogsmeade," Hermione muttered defeated. Now that her mother was on the roll there was no stopping her. With a sigh, Hermione changed into bras of all sizes and colours and showed them to her Mum.

After one hour they were finally finished and went to their favourite bakery, got themselves a few pieces of different cakes and went home for tea. Hermione's father was still at work - her mother had taken the day off at their dentistry - and so the Granger women had the afternoon to themselves.

"Hermione, there is something I have to talk to you about." Her mother sat down her teacup gingerly. "You're almost fifteen now and I think it's time we talk about what it means for a woman to grow up."

"Oh Mum, really, that's not necessary. You already gave me that book last year." Hermione felt her face heat up as her mother pulled out a box and opened it. Inside were several different items like condoms, sanitary pads and tampons.

"No, Hermione, we should talk about this. Some things you can't learn from books and I want to do this before you leave for the Weasleys next week. I don't want you to be in this kind of situation on your own and don't know what to do. After all, you don't have any kind of biology lessons or sex education in Hogwarts." Her mother crinkled her nose at this.

"So, if you get your period for the first time…" Hermione sat down, silent and deeply embarrassed, while her mother explained to her the correct uses of different women hygiene products. It was kind of weird for Hermione to not be the one who asked a thousand questions about something, but somehow she was not comfortable with this topic. Especially with her mum being the one lecturing her.

It got even weirder when her mother changed the topic and started to talk about sex. And not just the typical _when-a-man-and-a-woman-love-each-other-_ lecture, but more like talking about the hard facts of losing your virginity, about how pleasurable sex could be for women and how it all worked. Hermione was, of course, interested, but she bit her tongue and just nodded. By now she was completely mortified and embarrassed.

"So, it seems like getting married and having children is something witches and wizards do a lot… sooner than we _muggles_ and I'm not sure if it's a cultural thing or just a lack of contraceptive." Again, there was this crinkle and the slightly disapproving tone in her mother's voice.

"I packed an assortment of different condoms and the pill for you. If you want to have sex, I want you to use them. And don't be stupid and wait for the boy to take charge of the contraception. You're going to be the one who will be pregnant so you're the one who has to be careful. Boys at your age are stupid, hormonal idiots and don't think twice about things. And if one of them tells you that he doesn't want to wear a condom, well then I hope you will walk away as fast as possible. Because, remember, the pill only prevents pregnancy, a condom also prevents getting a sexually transmitted disease."

"Merlin Mum, calm down. I'm not going to have sex during the next school year." Hermione buried her face in her hands. She was fourteen!

"Maybe not next year, but someday you will and I want you to know everything you need." With that, her mother shoved a few booklets with information at her and Hermione was glad to go up to her room with the order to look at them and the box of hygiene products and contraceptives.

Hermione read through the information quickly and found that she knew most of it already. In theory, she knew everything about how her body changed and would further change in the next years. And she knew everything about sex, theoretically. But she was still too young to really think about sex as something she wanted to… do herself. Merlin, she was only fourteen. She hadn't even had her first kiss yet.

 _There isn't even someone I want to kiss_ , Hermione thought as she falls down on her bed. But for a second the image of a cheeky smile and freckles flashed through her mind.

 _Nope, no one I want to kiss,_ she decided and pushed the image away

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione inspected herself one last time in the bathroom mirror. Her hair was neatly braided, her clothes fit perfectly and her teeth were still too large, but a least clean. A huff escaped her. Why was he so nervous? She had met Ron's family several times in the last years and both Mr and Mrs Weasley were lovely people. There was no reason to be so anxious about making a good impression.

"Hermione!" Her father's voice called shaky from the living room. "I think they're coming."

With a grin Hermione picked up her small handbag, her trunk and Crookshanks wooden basket were already downstairs and jumped down the stairs. In his letters, Ron had forgotten to mention which way of transportation the Weasleys would use to pick her up and Hermione was equally anxious and overjoyed about it. She had always wanted to use the floo network or side-along apparition.

Hermione stepped into the room right on time to see Fred and George stumble out of her parents' fireplace. Mr Weasley was already there and talked with her parents, who honestly seemed a bit confused. Maybe the wizard was asking them questions about their muggle home and technology.

"Little Miss Granger, splendid to see you." Fred grinned at her and for a second Hermione forgot all about the ability to speak. Had he always been so tall? And his hair, had it been so long before the summer?

"How is our favourite bookworm?" George winked as he brushed some dirt from the fireplace off Fred's shoulder. That snapped Hermione out of her awkward shock.

"I'm fine, thank you." She answered in an overly polite manner. The twins both raised an eyebrow but before they could make a comment Ron stumbled out of the fireplace.

"Hermione!" With an excited smile, he ran towards her and hugged her. Never in her life had Hermione been gladder about the fact that Ron was a master at interrupting others.

"There's so much I have to tell you and show you. We will pick up Harry tomorrow and then there's the Cup and-"

"Merlin Ron, try to breathe in between." George rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, can't have you faint over the excitement of seeing the fair Lady Hermione again." Fred winked and Ron blushed. Somehow this conversation made Hermione really uncomfortable and she was relieved when Mr Weasley announced that they would floo to the Burrow now.

Quickly Hermione said goodbye to her parents, promised to write often and then stepped into the fireplace, in her hands Crookshanks' basket. She took a deep breath and clearly pronounced _The Burrow_ while throwing the floo powder.

The first thing Hermione saw when she opened her eyes was Ginny Weasley, standing in front of the overly large fireplace. The redhead was wearing casual clothes and a look of excitement and joy took over her face.

"Hermione!" Ginny pulled her out of the floo and hugged her. "I missed you so much, you have no idea." Quickly Ginny pulled Hermione upstairs before one of the others had time to come through the floo, and showed her a small, but cosy and nice room with two beds.

"You're sharing with me. I know it's not big, but I promise its way cleaner than the boys' rooms and not as stinky. And I don't snore."

"That hurts, little sister." The twins walked into the room and put Hermione's trunk in front of one of the beds.

"Yeah, don't reveal our secrets like that. Hermione should discover herself whom of us snores." Fred snickered and George winked, both with a cheeky grin. But Hermione found that Fred's grin was just a bit cheekier and… cuter?

 _Nope! Not cute, not at all._ Hermione pushed the thought aside and followed Ginny back to the living room, where Ron was already waiting.

Hermione spent the day with Ron and Ginny, both telling her every detail about their holidays so far. They also introduced her to their two oldest brothers Bill and Charlie. Hermione was of course fascinated by Bill and Charlie, who both worked in interesting and challenging - and also quite dangerous - fields.

Bill as a curse breaker was truly amazing as he had had almost the same subjects as Hermione. And with a small wink, he told her that he too had used the Time-Turner for only one year.

Charlie, on the other hand, was obviously a man who liked danger and dangerous animals and Hermione was amazed by the complicated magic he used at the reserve to keep the dragons in check.

After a few hours, Hermione felt almost at home at the Burrow and was more than glad that she had accepted Ron's invitation. For a few days, she had seriously considered not to go since he had been so terrible towards her during the last school year. She still struggled with accepting that now everyone acted as nothing had happened. But Hermione enjoyed staying at the Burrow immensely and decided that she had made a good decision.

The only one who enjoyed the stay even more than she was probably Crookshanks. The cat spent every minute outside, sleeping in the sun or chasing after the gnomes.

After the dinner everyone was sitting together in the living room, playing exploding snap or talking with each other. Hermione was playing a really intense game against Bill and Ginny when the peace and quiet were interrupted by a loud and frightening BANG. At once Mrs Weasley jumped up and started to run upstairs.

"What are you two thinking?!" Her screaming sounded through the whole house and didn't seem to stop.

"Mum found out that Fred and George are planning to open a joke shop. They already had forms for owl deliveries ready and a whole line of products." Ron's voice was a conspirative whisper. "Apparently that's the reason they both didn't do so well on their O.W.L.s. Mum is livid."

"They're calling it Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," Ginny explained with glowing eyes.

Hermione looked towards the ceiling and winced when she realised that Mrs Weasley was still screaming at the twins in full force. Till now she had only seen the older woman as a caring and sweet person. But Mrs Weasley clearly had quite the temper, Hermione realised when she remembered the howler back in their second year.

And Hermione vaguely asked herself if Fred and George really deserved that much screaming.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"Did you hear that? I think they're back." Eagerly Ginny jumped up from their sunbathing place in the garden. Hermione followed her quickly, also eager to finally see Harry again. Mr Weasley, Ron, Fred and George had gone to pick up Harry from his relatives half an hour ago. Ginny and Hermione had wanted to go with them but Mrs Weasley insisted that too many people wouldn't make a good impression of Harry's family.

When Hermione walked into the kitchen Mrs Weasley was again scolding Fred and George for something they had done. Hermione wasn't sure what it was but she thought she heard the words _cousin_ and _gigantic tongue_.

From the corner of her eye, Hermione saw how Ginny blushed when Harry smiled at her and she rolled her eyes at that. Ginny finally needed to learn how to talk with Harry without behaving like a little girl.

Hermione greeted Harry right as Mrs Weasley started to warm up with her scolding. The woman became louder and louder and harsh words were said. Silently Ginny, Ron, Harry and Hermione decided to leave the room. But on her way-out Hermione caught the look on Fred's face and for a second she just stared at him. There was a look of embarrassment and shame in his eyes, but also anger and… defiance?

Hermione felt her face heat up and quickly followed the others. She was half-aware that Ron and Ginny explained Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to Harry and how the three of them laughed about the prank the twins had played of Dudley. Hermione found she couldn't laugh with the others about it. She was too confused about her own feelings.

She didn't like it at all that Mrs Weasley was so harsh to the twins. Hermione also couldn't get Fred's face and his impression of defeat out of her mind. On the other hand, Hermione also couldn't approve of the dangerousness of some of the twins' inventions.

Later that day when everyone was gathering for a big family gathering and dinner the mood was tremendously better. Fred and George were joking again with all their brothers while Hermione and Ginny helped to set the tables outside. Well, or they tried to. Bill and Charlie were levitating the tables and battled them against each other, which made it a bit difficult to prepare them for dinner. But Hermione didn't mind at all.

It was nice to witness the leisure ease between all of the Weasley siblings. The seven of them were all joking, laughing and bickering with each other and even Percy eased up a bit in the presence of his older brothers. Hermione, who had only known Percy as the oldest Weasley and the one who was responsible for his younger siblings, was amazed by the thought that there had been a time when he had been the youngest at Hogwarts, with Bill and Charlie looking after him.

"Enjoying yourself, Hermione?" Fred sat down beside Hermione, who was watching the spectacle from the sidelines on a bench.

"Yeah, your brothers are quite the entertainers." Hermione tried to smile but she was absolutely sure that she sounded and looked ridiculous. She felt ridiculous. Her face heated up again and her heartbeat began to stutter. A nervous flutter in her stomach made her want to jump up and run away.

"Well, we learned from the best. Now if you excuse me, there is a brother who still needs to loosen up a bit." Fred winked and with that he was off again, chasing after Percy together with George. The twins placed little firecrackers on Percy's robes while he tried to escape them. Little bangs and booms sounded through the garden as Mrs Weasley finally arrived with the food.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning. It was too early, way too early. No one should stand up at this time of the day Hermione decided and almost turned around to get some more sleep.

"H'mione, need get up. The cup" slurred Ginny beside her in the other bed and Hermione vaguely remembered why they had to get up so early.

The Quidditch Cup! The biggest event ever in the magical community and Hermione would be able to witness it. Within seconds she was wide awake and up and quickly changed into her clothes. But the tiredness was still deep in her bones and when she arrived at the kitchen with Ginny both of them yawned. The boys were already eating breakfast and looked at lot readier and more awake. They were even discussing Quidditch during this early hour. Hermione settled for tea and a bit of toast - she wasn't a big eater that early in the morning.

Half an hour later they started their travel towards the Cup. Hermione listened intently to Mr Weasley when he explained how they would travel via a portkey and tried to remember every detail about. Portkey was a way of transportation Hermione had never heard of before and she was fascinated with the prospect of using it herself. It sounded exciting.

"Ah, and that must be Cedric." Mr Weasley announced when they met Amos Diggory, who had already found the portkey. Hermione vaguely remembered his son as an older Hufflepuff student who also played Quidditch for his house team, but she had forgotten that he was the one who had defeated Harry last year during the incident with the Dementors.

Surprised Hermione witnessed the scowls on Fred and George's faces when Amos Diggory proudly reminded everyone of Cedric's success.

"Pfh, he was lucky that those Dementors knocked Harry out." George angrily whispered.

"Yeah, and I really don't get how Angelina thinks he's good-looking. He is too daft too even formulate one intelligent sentence." Fred mumbled and a little stitch penetrated Hermione's heart. She remembered how Angelina, Alicia and Katie had talked about Cedric Diggory last year. And she remembered clearly that Fred had said something similar back then.

Sure, he was good looking. The dark hair and the friendly eyes, and he had a nice smile. All in all, Cedric was the typical nice boy from next door. Moreover, Cedric was polite and fair and not one to show off with his skills and achievements. But still, Hermione thought nothing of him when the older boy smiled at her briefly.

"Okay, hold on." Mr Weasley announced suddenly and from one second to the other the portkey began to glow. Hermione felt a pull in her navel and then was whisked away. The world spun around her like a carousel - a carousel that was driving way too fast - and changed around her.

With a thumb, Hermione landed on the floor while a tired Ministry worker talked with Mr Weasley. Mr Weasley, Mr Diggory and Cedric were the only ones who had managed to land gracefully and on their feet while all the others were laying on the grass beside Hermione.

"Merlin," Fred and George groaned simultaneously and got up. George offered his hand to Ginny while Fred offered his to Hermione. Without thinking she took it and let him pull her up. But Fred used a bit too much force and Hermione leapt forward and almost landed in his arms. She just managed to stop her movement millimetres away from his chest and looked up at Fred with wide eyes.

Fred just grinned. This cheeky smile. This cheeky, cute smile, that made Hermione's heart jump a bit. His dark blue eyes twinkled and for the first time, Hermione realised how much taller Fred was than her. And how wide his shoulders and his back were. His hair was standing in different directions from the fall and the spinning portkey and Hermione had to suppress the urge to flatten his hair with her fingers.

"You good, Granger?" Fred asked carefully as Hermione just stared at him. She nodded silently.

"Okay, let's go search for our camping place." Mrs Weasley happily walked off, the others in tow. Fred smiled and bumped Hermione's shoulder, implying that she should follow him. A nervous flutter spread through her stomach at the touch and Hermione tried to convince herself that it was only a late side effect of the portkey. But she wasn't very successful with that. A nagging voice deep inside of her knew that this was because of Fred.


	11. The Conclusion

For the next hour, Hermione busied herself with helping Mr Weasley and Harry building up the tents muggle-style. It was a hassle but in the end, the happy look of content on Mr Weasley's face was worth it. Plus, the insides of the tents was absolutely fascinating. Hermione hadn't known that magic could be used to extend space in such a way.

Afterwards, Hermione, Harry and Ron were sent to fetch up water and they used the time to stroll through the camp. Everything at the camp was simply extraordinary. There were tents in all shapes and sizes and with a lot of magical extras. Ministry workers were running like chickens between the countless tents and tried to prevent the magical community from showing magic too much.

On their way, the three of them met Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas, who were right in the middle of the Irish camp, which was grown over by green clovers. The two of them and Seamus' mother were already in full Quidditch mood.

Curiously Hermione followed Harry and Ron to the Bulgarian Camp to see how they had decorated. Instead of something that represented the country all the fans had decorated their tents with hundreds of pictures of Viktor Krum.

"He looks quite grumpy, doesn't he?" Hermione said as she inspected the posters. She only knew sports pictures of Muggle sports and there the stars at least tried to smile. Viktor Krum, who was a genius according to Ron, looked like he hated being photographed. Hermione rolled her eyes as Ron tried to further explain to her why and how Krum was the best and youngest and blah blah blah…

Hermione opted for ignoring Ron and Harry's Quidditch talks and rather enjoyed watching the witches and wizards around her. Especially the little children, who grew up with magic like it was the most normal thing in the world, amazed her. Hermione loved her parents but in moments like these, she felt like she had missed out on something. She had missed out on years and years of being surrounded by magic and now she had to learn as fast as she could to make up for this missing time.

On their way back the three of them met even more Hogwarts students, like Ernie Macmillan, and Oliver Wood, who was talking nonstop about his new career as a reserve player for Puddlemore United.

The most interesting occurrence was Cho Chang, who smiled and waved at Harry from a distance, which led to Harry spilling water all over himself when he tried to wave back. While Ron snickered at their friend's misery, Hermione studied Harry carefully.

He was blushing furiously and Hermione realised that maybe Ginny had to give up on Harry sooner than Hermione had thought. Till now Ginny and Hermione had speculated that Harry simply didn't notice girls in a romantic way because he was too busy with surviving the school year. But that theory was now clearly off the table because Harry not only noticed Cho Chang. He obviously liked her.

"You've been ages," said George when they finally came back.

"Met a few people," Ron said and put down the water. "You not got that fire started yet?" Ron and Harry sat down beside George and Hermione realised that the only available place to sit now was beside Fred.

"Dad's having fun with the matches," said Fred nodding towards his father. Quickly Hermione made her way to Mr Weasley and offered to show him how to use the matches correctly. She was glad for the opportunity because when she came back Bill, Charlie and Percy had arrived and all seats were taken. Hermione squeezed herself in between Ginny and Ron and carefully avoided looking at Fred.

The rest of the day was spent on cooking lunch, watching wizards and witches and talking to some of Mr Weasley's co-workers. Ludo Bagman and Mr Crouch were interesting, but Bagman was clearly a walking and talking surprise. Not only did he offer bets to everyone, but he also took Fred and George's money, something Hermione found highly immoral.

Right before the game started, they all went down to the souvenir stands. Harry and Ron were on cloud nine with all the souvenirs and little magical gadgets. Meanwhile, Hermione went and got them all some programs, including the twins as she belatedly realised.

"Here, give them to Fred and George." She pushed two programs into Ginny's hands and quickly walked off to Bill and Charlie in hope that it would look like she was only effectively giving out the programs to everyone and not avoiding Fred.

After a small and unpleasant encounter with the Malfoy family, which left Hermione with the distinct feeling of being looked down, the program finally started.

The first thing was the mascots and when the Bulgarian Veela stormed the stadium Hermione forgot to breathe for a second. The Veela were beautiful and enthralling but they also awoke a feeling of being inferior in Hermione. Suddenly all her new fears about her body were pushed to the surface. She felt small and almost invisible in the presence of those beautiful creatures.

With all her strength Hermione averted her eyes and looked around to see how the others were reacting. For some reason, Harry and Ron were close to jumping down to the pitch and both mumbled something about how they were the most splendid man around.

With a tutting noise, Hermione and Ginny pulled them down while Mr Weasley explained how men were influenced by the Veela with the wish to impress them. The older Weasley boys like Bill, Charlie and Percy weren't influenced at all and laughed at Fred and George, who were bragging to each other about how they were each the better-looking twin. Hermione wasn't sure why but she was actually disappointed that the twins reacted to the Veela.

When the Quidditch game finally started it was clear from the first second that it would be a hard and fast game. The players were flying in crazy formations and with incredible speed and Hermione was glad for the Omnioculars from Harry, which made it easier to follow the game.

As the game went on even Hermione could say that it was a good game. The players were fantastic and even Hermione became so invested that she screamed, when she thought that the two seekers Krum and Lynch were going to crash. But in the last second Krum turned up, while Lynch crashed into the ground on high speed. Charlie explained with a soothing voice that it had only been a feint and that Lynch would be up soon when Ginny and Hermione squeaked in surprise.

With every passing minute, the game became dirtier and it finally showed its most ugly side when the Irish Leprechauns taunted the Veela after a foul. The beautiful Veela suddenly turned into bird-like creatures and started to throw fire towards the little green men.

"And that, boys, is why you should never go for looks alone." Mr Weasley shouted and Hermione recognizes with a satisfied smirk that Ron and Harry looked like someone had slapped them. Bill and Charlie were laughing loudly, while Percy frowned at the scene in the pitch. Fred and George instead snickered about something.

 _Never go for looks alone, I wonder if it's the case with…_ Hermione thought as she watched how Fred grinned at his twin brother. Quickly she shook her head and turned her gaze back to the pitch.

She was just in time to see how a bludger crashed into Viktor Krum's face with full force and how blood streamed out of his nose. Hermione winced as she saw the injuries. That was the reason why she didn't like Quidditch much. Sure, there were plenty of dangerous muggle sports but at least you could only be injured by a real human being and it was almost always considered a foul.

Suddenly the whole crowd began to scream and cheer when Lynch, the Irish Seeker, started to race off, Krum only a second behind him. They had seen the snitch and were racing with almost no space between them to get it. Krum was finally the one who won the race when he caught the golden ball, but ultimately he lost the game.

"It was quite brave, wasn't it? Catching the snitch with such an injury and ending the game on his own terms." Hermione thought loudly. For someone, so grumpy looking Krum had made a big impression on her.

"It was, Granger." The twins jumped the stairs down beside Hermione.

"And it also won us a bet so-" George slung one arm around Hermione back as Fred covered her shoulders with his from the other side.

"-from now on Viktor Krum is our favourite person in the world." A prickling feeling ran over Hermione's shoulders. It felt like a thousand ants were running over her bare skin but that made no sense. She looked up and realised that it only felt that way where Fred was touching her. George didn't make her react in any way.

 _Odd, they're twins, that doesn't make any sense,_ she thought. And this thought didn't leave her for the rest of the evening. Even in bed later Hermione couldn't let go of this idea and it made it impossible for her to fall asleep. And so, she was one of the first ones to hear the riot when it started.

"Ginny," she whispered. "Wake up, I think something is happening and I don't know if it's something good." Sleepily Ginny searched for a pullover and when the two of them came out of their tent the rest of their group was already outside.

"Hide in the woods while we help the ministry workers." Mr Weasley screamed as he followed his three eldest sons, who were already ahead.

The run to the woods was pure chaos. Everywhere were screaming wizards and witches, children and then came the ones with the masks, who were levitating the muggle family through the air. Hermione almost puked.

That could be her parents up there! Her grandparents or aunts and uncles. Her little cousins, still elementary school kids. And it could be her! Those death eaters probably regarded her also as a muggle, she realised when Draco Malfoy stepped out of the woods and taunted them.

Hermione was only an inch away from slapping him again but they had lost Fred, George and Ginny already and if they didn't run along now they had no chance of finding them again. So, she suppressed her anger and pulled Ron with her. Her heart was beating like a drum. Was she really in more danger that all the others around her?

When Hermione, Harry and Ron finally came back to the tent with Mr Weasley everyone else was already there. Bill, Charlie and Percy seemed quite roughed up from the fights while Ginny and the twins were mainly confused.

Hermione left it to Harry and Mr Weasley to report the happenings from the night while she herself boiled with rage.

She hated how Winky had been treated! Why had no one realised that the little elf too was a being with feelings and a sense of survival? A being that had needs and rights and shouldn't be treated like something lesser than wizards and witches! The treatment of Winky reminded Hermione awfully of the way some magical folks thought about muggles and this evening had shown that those thoughts were still very alive. And it awoke the wish in Hermione to do something in order to change the situation.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The next morning their little group woke up again at dawn and hurried to get the next portkey to the Burrow. There Mrs Weasley was already anxiously waiting for them to come home and burst into tears as soon as she saw her children alive and well. With a warm feeling in her chest, Hermione watched how Mrs Weasley hugged Fred and George and apologized again and again for yelling at them.

Hermione was just about to go to Ginny's room in order to take a nap when Harry pulled her and Ron with him. In detail, he described how his scar had hurt a few days ago and that he had already written Sirius about it. Hermione was both pleased with Harry's responsible approach of telling a grown-up and nervous because of it happening it all. Harry's scar hurting and the attack of the Death Eaters a few days later hardly could be a coincidence.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"They won't let me play," Ginny grumbled as she sat down beside Hermione.

Half an hour ago all the boys in the house - minus Percy of course - had decided to play a round of Quidditch in the afternoon. From one minute to the other an excited brimming had gone through the house and Hermione had fled the scene.

Equipped with one of her new schoolbooks, a soft blanket and her sunglasses she had made herself comfortable under one of the big trees near the 'pitch' at the Burrow. Mrs Weasley had kindly brought her a few bottles of ice-cold butterbeer - charmed to stay that way - and a plate full of cookies.

"Bloody gits," Ginny cursed, while she nibbled on a cookie. "I knew Ron wouldn't let me play, but the others…" With a dark expression on her face, the redhead watched how her brothers and Harry made their way out of the house. Each had a broom with them and they were laughing about something.

"Why won't they?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Ron says I can't keep up with them. Bill and Charlie don't want me to get hurt and the twins just laughed. Harry was the only one who didn't vote against me." A small smile appeared at the last part. "They all believe I can't fly well enough. But the joke is on them!"

Hermione laughed as she saw the determined face of her friend.

"Planning a vendetta?" She joked.

"Nah, I will take revenge the same way as I did in the last years. By stealing their brooms at night and flying on my own." Ginny winked and both laughed as the boys mounted their brooms.

Harry, Fred and Bill were playing in one team against Charlie, George and Ron, so that both teams had two Quidditch players from the house team and one rookie. But still, Hermione could see that both Ron and Bill were good flyers and played quite well. They were also both playing as keepers, while Fred, Harry, George and Charlie were playing as chasers. Apparently, they were playing without the snitch and the bludgers.

For a while, Hermione was reading peacefully on her blanket while Ginny watched the game and occasionally cursed her older brothers. But then the redhead let out a loud sigh and Hermione looked up.

"Sorry, I didn't want to disturb you." Ginny's face was beet red but Hermione realised it wasn't because of her but because of Harry. Hermione grinned.

"A bit distracted, aren't you?"

"That's an understatement." Ginny sighed again.

"I know I'm stupid. I know Harry isn't really interested in me that way, or in girls in general." Hermione bit her tongue as she thought back about Harry's reaction to Cho Chang. She didn't want to hurt her friend about something she wasn't even sure herself. Maybe Hermione was wrong about Cho after all.

"You know, he seems so happy and free when he's playing Quidditch. Like he is on his own little world, away from everything." Ginny sighed - again - but Hermione was too distracted to answer.

She watched how Fred outsmarted Ron and got the Quaffle right through one of the rings. Ron was cursing loudly - something Hermione couldn't understand but she thought it was bloody git - while Fred just laughed so hard that he almost fell off his broom.

As Hermione watched how Fred grinned and flew a victory round through the pitch her heart started to beat much faster and harder than normal. A warm feeling spread through her chest.

"Ginny, can I ask you a question?" Hermione said, a bit distracted by the ongoing game.

"Sure."

"How do you know you're really in love with Harry? I mean, how do you know it's not just a crush or you idolising him?" There was a moment of silence and Hermione feared that her question was too much and that she had hurt her friend. But then Ginny answered thoughtfully.

"You know, I thought about that quite often during the last year. After Harry rescued me in the Chamber of Secrets my feelings for him became much stronger. Back then I actually hoped that it was just a crush, just me idolising him. That would have made everything so much easier." There was a pause while Ginny searched for the right words.

"I can't help it. I just like him. Whenever Harry is around I just feel… I feel so excited and shy at the same time. There is this tingle in my heart and my stomach flips whenever he talks to me. I can't explain it, it's just… it's just happening and there is nothing I can do."

A sudden realisation hit Hermione as she remembered how she felt around Fred in the last weeks, maybe even in the last months. She couldn't pinpoint the exact moment but Hermione realised that somehow her feelings towards Fred had changed a while ago.

She was in love with him. She was in love with Fred Weasley, her best friend's older brother.

_Well, shit…_

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione spent the last evening at the Burrow sitting in the living room with everyone else but hiding behind a book. She pretended to read her new spells book but in reality, she was observing the room closely. Ginny was repairing her school books with the help of Charlie while Ron played an intense game of chess against Bill. Mrs Weasley and Percy were deep into a conversation about the ministry. Mr Weasley was still at work.

The twins were plotting something in a corner of the living room. In the last days Hermione had thought about how she wanted to deal with Fred but till now she hadn't come to a conclusion. She just tried to behave as normal as possible so that no one would become suspicious of her.

"Hermione, why are there dress robes for you?" Ginny asked as the girls came to their shared room. Surprised Hermione looked at the wardrobe, where the dress robes were hanging. There were obviously for her since they were not Ginny's size.

They were made of a floaty, silky material and had a nice periwinkle blue colour. Hermione found them wonderful but was still confused. Why would she need dress robes?

"Wait a moment," she searched for the Hogwarts shopping list. And there it was. Dress robes for all students in the fourth year and above.

"What? Why only fourth years and above? That's not fair." Ginny huffed and flopped down in her bed. Hermione meanwhile inspected her dress robes closer. There was a small notice attached to it.

_Hermione darling, I hope you don't mind but Mrs Weasley contacted me when the letter with the shopping list arrived. She thought it was a good idea to choose your dress robes together. I had a lot of fun and I hope you like the dress. I think you will have a lot of fun with it. Mrs Weasley told me a bit of what will happen this year. It sounds really exciting. Love, Mum._

"Oh, that's not fair." Hermione frowned. "My Mum knows what's going on…" Hermione showed Ginny the letter and they started to speculate about it till Mrs Weasley came and ordered them to bed.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

After a really horrible taxi ride to the train station, they arrived at King's cross with just enough time to pester Mrs Weasley, Bill and Charlie with questions about what was happening in Hogwarts this year. The boys had also caught on that it was something spectacular and were now curious as hell. But in the end, they all had to board the train without getting any useful information.

The ride was the most peaceful they had ever had. No searching for toads or best friends who had missed the train and no Dementors trying to suck out your soul. Ron, Harry and Hermione spent it in a compartment with Neville, Seamus and Dean and while the boys talked about the Quidditch Cup, Hermione tried to finally read her spells book.

Their peace and quiet were only disturbed by Draco Malfoy and his stupid minions Crabbe and Goyle, who came for their usual visit and tried to torment and taunt Harry. But all in all, it was exactly the kind of train ride Hermione had hoped for since she first boarded the Hogwarts Express. A nice ride with friends, talking about school and magic.

The weather was horrible outside but Hermione's mood was excellent. She looked forward to the sorting and the feast and of course hoped that Professor Dumbledore would reveal some of these top secret information to them. Even Peeves throwing water bombs at the students couldn't change Hermione's mood.

And then Nearly-Headless-Nick told them about the house elves working at the Hogwarts kitchens. Instantly Hermione was remembered of the poor treatment against Winky and her mind raced. She couldn't believe that something like the enslavement of a whole race of creatures was just… okay for the magical community! But it was also the same community that thought that Muggle-borns were worth less than purebloods so maybe she shouldn't be surprised about it.

Hermione put down her knife and fork in a silent protest. Maybe she could do a hunger strike and demand better working conditions for the elves?

But before Hermione could work out a plan in her head Professor Dumbledore finally stood up and started to explain - finally - what was happening this year. Like everyone else, Hermione was in disbelief when he explained what the Triwizard Tournament was and an odd silence was filling the room.

"You're JOKING!" Fred asked a bit too loud but effectively broke the silence and suddenly the whole hall was laughing. Even Dumbledore had a smile on his face. With a sudden lurch in her stomach, Hermione realised how much she liked this about Fred. His easy confidence to say and do whatever he wanted.

But Fred's - and everyone else's - excitement was put down when the headmaster proceeded to explain the conditions for participating in the tournament.

"They can't do that! We're seventeen in April, why can't we have a shot?" George grumbled as they were sent to their dormitories. Him, Fred, Harry, Ron and Hermione were amongst the last ones in the Great Hall as the boys discussed the announcement.

"They're not stopping me entering. The champions will get to do all sorts of stuff you'd never be allowed to normally. And a thousand Galleons prize money!" Fred said stubbornly.

"Come on, we'll be the only ones left here if you don't move." Hermione shooed them out of the Hall in order to act normal. That's what she normally did, right? She wasn't sure anymore how to behave normally around Fred. What was normal?

While they were on their way to Gryffindor Tower Hermione listened as the twins started to think about ways to enter the tournament despite the age rule. Fred was astonishingly logical and sharp with his conclusion but Hermione doubted that they really would find a way. She hoped they wouldn't find a way. Because the thought about Fred - or one of the others - entering the tournament, a tournament that had ended deadly in the past, scared the living hell out of her.

Later that night Hermione lay awake thinking about Fred. Damn it, this crush was getting out of hand. It prevented her from sleeping and thinking straight.

 _But it's just a crush, it will go away!_ Hermione thought determined. She just needed something to keep her mind occupied otherwise. She needed a task or a project… Maybe something to help the house elves. Something better than starving herself.


	12. Dragons and Jam Tarts

Hermione used her first day of school as effective as possible. In between the lessons and after the meals she ran off to the library to research how she could help the house elves best. Hermione had decided that the best way was to try and change something at the ministry directly. She wanted to found a group which would campaign for house-elf-rights. And the more people she had in this group the better.

Hermione remembered the stories her parents had told her about their time at university. During that time her parents had joined many groups, went to demonstrations and tried to make a political impact. This stories now inspired Hermione. Her group needed a name and a manifesto, of course.

Hermione was absolutely excited while she planned and she hoped that she could sway as many students as possible for her cause. She was sure that people would see the matter her way as soon as there was a group which gave them the opportunity to be active and political.

The rest of the day went by pretty normally for Hermione. Well, apart from the little scene with Malfoy when he taunted Harry and Ron and ended up as a ferret. Hermione really tried not to laugh when Professor Moody transfigured the blond git into a silver ferret and let him bounce.

Ron was on cloud nine after this and in an excellent mood when Hermione left them to rush back to the library. On her way out she almost crashed into Fred, who was on his way into the Great Hall with George, both whispering about something.

"Woah, where's the fire, Granger?" George joked while Hermione tried to steady herself.

"There's something I need to research," she explained breathlessly and hurried off. Behind her, she could hear how Fred yelled something like _it's only the first day_  but she didn't turn around. Her heart raced from the unexpected situation. Merlin, she needed to get her mind back as soon as possible. With renewed fever, Hermione worked on her house elf project.

In the evening she was finally finished and hurried to the common room.

"It's S.P.E.W., not spew." With gleaming eyes, Hermione showed Harry and Ron the badges she made during the day. She had worked really hard to get everything ready within one day and had expected her friends to be a little more… enthusiastic about it. But the two just stared at her like she had grown a second head.

And before Hermione had the chance to further explain her ideas and goals Hedwig arrived with a letter from Sirius, which was of course more interesting and important than house elves to Harry and Ron.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The first two weeks of the term went by as fast as ever. Hermione was trying hard to get people to join S.P.E.W. but sadly most of her classmates seemed to think that she was either joking or crazy. No one was interested in house-elves and how they were treated.

Instead, her classmates started to complain about the workload in the classes more and more. Since they would have their O.W.L.s in the next year the teachers were quick to give them more homework and more difficult tasks in order to prepare them. Hermione was one of the only ones who were still able to keep up with her workload, but she was immensely glad that she wasn't using the Time-Turner anymore.

But the most exciting thing was, of course, the Tournament and so everyone was talking about nothing else. In all classes, people tried to pry information from the Professors and during meals, breaks and in the common room, there was no other topic.

In between all the homework, the Tournament talk and her efforts to gain members for S.P.E.W. Hermione turned fifteen on a sunny September Monday. Mondays were Hermione's favourite day this school year. In the morning they had Herbology and Care for Magical Creatures, which provided them with a nice morning outside. After lunch, Hermione had a double lesson in Arithmancy, always something to look forward to.

Hermione had to admit that this year it felt a bit different to get older. Till now she hadn't felt different just because she had become older, but this year she felt an odd feeling of excitement in her chest. Fifteen felt like an age that changed things. She felt older and… more female?

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

At the beginning of October, there was finally the announcement that the other schools would arrive for the Triwizard Tournament on the day before Halloween. Hermione was standing with Ron and Harry in front of the sign when Ron started to complain about Cedric Diggory as a possible champion for Hogwarts.

"Not the pretty boy, he's an idiot." Ron huffed.

"He's not an idiot, you just don't like him because he beat Gryffindor at Quidditch," said Hermione. "I've heard he's a really good student - and he's a Prefect."

Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones had told Hermione - or more tried to convince her - that Cedric was the perfect candidate. Hermione still wasn't so sure about that but she understood why the Hufflepuffs were all supporting him.

"You only like him because he's handsome," said Ron scathingly.

"Excuse me, I don't like people just because they're handsome!" Hermione blushed furiously when she heard how Ron coughed something that sounded like  _Lockhart_.

She wasn't so superficial!

A fleeting thought that maybe she liked Fred just because he was handsome swirled through Hermione's mind. A part of her wished it would be that way because then it would be so much easier to just forget about him. Till now Hermione hadn't found a way to deal with Fred beside pretending that nothing was going on.

Should she act on her feelings? Or should she ignore them in the hope they would vanish quickly? And if she told Fred, was there even a slight chance that he would take her seriously?

Falling in love with your best friend's older brother was the worst cliché Hermione could think about and she still couldn't believe that it had actually happened to her.

The only thing equally worse was falling in love with your older brother's best friend, like Ginny. But Hermione was still reluctant to tell Ginny about her new emotional status. Somehow Hermione was afraid of admitting it out loud.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

On the day the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students were scheduled to arrive, Hermione, Harry and Ron were going down to breakfast just to find Fred and George sit by themselves again. This had happened quite often since the start of the school year and was highly unusual.

Ron suspected that the twins were planning something for their joke shop and didn't want anyone to know. But Hermione found that they looked rather unhappy and angry during those little secret meetings. Not like they were planning something like their life dream.

"That's a bummer. He will avoid us otherwise," George muttered.

"Who's avoiding you," Ron asked as he sat down beside his brothers. Both didn't look like they were happy to see them.

"I wish you would," Fred shoot back, obviously in a bad mood.

"What's a bummer?" Ron asked again, this time George. Hermione had to admit that it wasn't easy to discourage Ron when he wanted to know something.

"Having you for a brother," George mumbled and thankfully Harry took over the conversation by asking about the Tournament. That cheered up the twins who still had big plans. Hermione listened silently as she prepared her porridge.

"You know, I bet we could do them, Harry, we've done dangerous stuff before…" Ron mused.

"Not in front of a panel of judges, you haven't," said Fred. "McGonagall says the champions get awarded points according to how well they've done the tasks."

"Who are the judges?" Harry asked.

"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel," said Hermione and everyone looked around at her, rather surprised. Apparently, they had forgotten she was still there and suddenly she felt a bit awkward.

Suppressing this feeling she started to explain how she had read it in  _Hogwarts: A History_  and then switched the topic to elf rights, when she remembered her rage from the other day.

Hermione felt rather… cheated that the most wonderful book - the first magical book she had read - said nothing about house elves at all. There wasn't even one word about them working in the kitchens.

While she spoke Hermione saw how the others fell silent and started to eat their breakfast, probably in hope that she would stop when they didn't talk back. Hermione felt more and more disappointed by this lack of social conscience.

The only one who engaged Hermione in a discussion was George, but only to tell how her  _happy_  the house elves were. Hermione had half a mind to yell at him when Hedwig once again arrived with a letter from Sirius. Huffing she accepted that she was interrupted - again - and finished her breakfast.

After the lessons that day all the Hogwarts students were waiting outside for the arrival of their guests. An excited whisper was running through the crowd when the giant carriage of Beauxbaton arrived. The horses alone were quite the sight but when the Headmistress stepped out of the carriage everyone was holding their breath. She was an elegant and beautiful woman but so, so large.

But the storm of excitement truly came when Durmstrang arrived and no other than Victor Krum, Quidditch star and Ron's personal hero, stepped out of the large ship. Ron couldn't stop himself from talking about Krum and looking out for him at the Great Hall. His disappointment about Krum sitting at the Slytherin table was almost hilarious.

Personally, Hermione found it ridiculous to make such a scene just because of some Quidditch player. She had learned her lesson after Lockhart and vowed to never let herself be blinded by someone just because of fame and good looks. Not that Krum was good-looking, quite the opposite was the case. What made it even more ridiculous that all the girls were whispering about Krum during the feast.

The feast itself was absolutely stunning. Hermione didn't know any of the house-elves at the Hogwarts kitchen herself but they had certainly outdone themselves.

It was when one of the Beauxbatons girls approached their table that Hermione's mood suddenly dropped. From one moment to the other she felt like an ugly duckling. The girl, which came to their table, had the longest silver blonde hair Hermione had ever seen and big, deep blue eyes. Everything about her screamed beauty and elegance and suddenly Hermione felt rather plump in her simple school uniform. It was a feeling similar to how Hermione had experienced the Veela. Just that this girl was very human and only looked like a Veela.

Snorting Hermione watched how Ron ogled at the girl while Harry was so obviously staring at Cho Chang that it almost hurt. She was just glad that Ginny was sitting somewhere else and couldn't witness this scene.

Thankfully Dumbledore chose this moment to start with his explanation of how the champions would be chosen for the Tournament.

"An age line, excellent," Fred and George grinned like nutters when everyone left the Hall later. They were absolutely convinced that they could trick the age line with a simple potion.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The next morning the twins proofed how convinced they were when they entered the room with a ruckus. Hermione, Ron and Harry had stood up sooner than usual to see who would enter his name into the goblet.

"We just took it," Fred smirked.

"It's not going to work." Hermione couldn't keep silent.

"Oh yeah, and why is that, Granger?" Fred grinned down at her.

"Dumbledore drew the age line himself. A genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by something as pathetically dim-witted as an ageing potion." She rolled her eyes. Everyone could easily see that an age potion was the most obvious solution and therefore would never work.

"But that's why it is so brilliant!" George exclaimed.

"Because it is so pathetically dim-witted." And with that Fred jumped over the age line first, followed by George a second later. For a few seconds, it seemed like they had succeeded. The crowd cheered for them but as soon as the twins tried to throw their names into the goblet a golden light appeared and threw them out of the circle.

With a loud thump, Fred and George landed a few feet away. But now they sported long, white beards which were growing more and more. Lee Jordan was almost crying from laughter while he escorted the twins to the infirmary.

Hermione tried not to laugh too loud and refrained to throw an  _I-told-you-so_ at the twins. Somehow she found even this stupidity endearing.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had just sat down for breakfast when a loud cheering was heard from the room with the goblet. A second later a blushing Angelina, who grinned in an embarrassed way, entered the Hall and sat down beside them.

"I just threw my name in," she announced sheepishly.

"Well, I'm glad someone from Gryffindor is entering. I really hope you get it, Angelina!" Hermione smiled at the older girl. The longer she knew Angelina Johnson the more she liked the girl. And now Angelina was even entering the Tournament, maybe she would become Champion. Hermione was thrilled with the idea of not only having a Gryffindor as Champion but also a woman. And Angelina surely was someone who was tough and intelligent enough to win the Tournament.

"Thanks, Hermione," said Angeline, smiling at her.

The rest of the day Hermione, Harry and Ron spent with Hagrid, who was behaving quite curiously. He wore his good clothes, had tried to tame his hair and was even wearing some kind of perfume or cologne. This puzzle was however solved pretty quickly when the three of them witnessed how Hagrid looked at Madame Maxime.

As superb the Halloween Feast was this year, Hermione was sure that most of the students couldn't appreciate the food completely. Everyone was too excited to see who the Champions would be and waited for the feast to finally end.

And when the goblet started to make his decision it was like the whole hall was holding its breath at the same time. No sound was heard till the flames turned red and Dumbledore announced Victor Krum as the first Champion. A sudden wave of cheers and applause broke out and Hermione grinned when she saw how happy Ron was.

The next Champion was Fleur Delacour, the girl which Ron still insisted was a Veela. Again a slight tingle of jealousy awoke in Hermione's chest as she watched the girl walk forward. But she also realised that she wasn't the only one. While quite a few boys were staring at Fleur star struck, most of the girls seemed rather jealous. Hermione assumed that this was normal for a girl as beautiful as Fleur Delacour.

The biggest applause, of course, broke out when Cedric Diggory was declared Hogwarts Champion. Hufflepuff House was in a rage of laughter and cheers when Cedric's name was announced and the tumult took so long that Dumbledore had to calm down the Hall before he could talk again.

But right before he could finish his announcement the goblet turned red again and a new name was flying out. With horror, Hermione listened when the headmaster announced Harry's name in front of everyone.

With wide eyes, she watched how her best friend stood up - a fearful and shocked expression on his face- and walked away like a lamb walking for its slaughter.

"I just don't get how he managed to do it and why he didn't tell us," Ron's face was an angry grimace and Hermione could see that he was struggling with some not so positive feelings. They were walking together to the common room and Ron had been raging since the moment Harry had left the Great Hall.

"Merlin, Ron, did you see his face? He was as surprised by the news as the rest of us. I don't think that Harry entered his name himself. Besides, we don't even know if they will let him participate. It's highly irregular to have four Champions, plus two of them from the same school." Hermione reasoned.

When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady there were several people standing in front of the portrait, listening to a witch from another portrait.

"…and the headmaster said he can participate. He's even allowed to skip end-terms." This seemed to settle it for Ron who stormed off, his face an ugly red.

Hermione tried to wait for Harry but ultimately she found it was too loud in the common room. The whole house was set on celebrating their unexpected Champion. She went up to bed with the hope that Ron would calm down after a good talk with Harry.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione's hope was crushed when she went down for breakfast the next morning and saw that Ron was already there - without Harry. Ron was so obviously sulking that Hermione ignored him, just grabbed a stack of toast and went back to the common room. Luckily she already met Harry on her way and together they took a walk around the lake, talking about what had happened.

Harry was now also angry at Ron for not believing him and Hermione wanted to shake some sense into those two idiots. Ron was stupid for being jealous and Harry was stupid for being so stubborn. And Hermione was in the middle of it, trying to convince each of them to finally speak with the other.

The following weeks were therefore spent with a lot of awkward silence and small talk whenever Ron and Harry had to work together in classes. But like it wasn't worse enough to have the two of them fighting, the rest of the school was also doing its best to make the situation as terrible as possible for Harry.

The Hufflepuffs, of course, had the opinion that Cedric was the only true Hogwarts Champion and therefore treated Harry really poorly. The Ravenclaws weren't much better. Apparently, they also thought that Harry had entered the Tournament willingly and just wanted more attention.

But the Slytherins were, of course, the worst. They taunted Harry every minute of the day and there was no escaping them. Hermione almost suspected that Malfoy had started a campaign on how to torture Harry the best. But that was a ridiculous thought. Surely Malfoy would never invest so much time and work.

Well, at least that was what Hermione thought till Draco Malfoy showed everyone before potions class the POTTER-STINKS-Badges he had made. Hermione was just about to ask why Malfoy was investing so much time and money just to annoy Harry when the situation escalated.

Harry and Malfoy started to cast at the same time, spells were flying and suddenly Hermione was hit.

An hour later Hermione was still sitting in the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey had managed to stop the growth of her teeth but they still needed to shrink them back to their original size. With horror Hermione looked into the mirror Madame Pomfrey handed her and a fresh sob broke out of her.

"Now, no crying. We will have this fixed in a minute," the nurse scolded in a motherly way and grabbed her wand. "Just tell me when to stop."

Fascinated Hermione watched how her teeth became smaller with every second and suddenly she realised the wonderful opportunity that presented itself to her right at this moment. With a thumping heart, Hermione watched the teeth shrink back to their original size and then she waited for just another three or four seconds and then…

"That's enough, thank you." She stopped Madame Pomfrey with a happy smile and admired her new sized teeth. It was unbelievable how much of a difference it made. Hermione found that now she wanted to smile the whole day just so that she could show it off.

When Hermione came down to dinner that evening Harry wasn't there, but Ron was sitting with Fred and George. With a nervous feeling in her gut, Hermione sat down beside Ron, right opposite of Fred. He smiled at her when she sat down and Hermione's heart made a nervous backflip.

"How are you?" Ron asked genuinely worried.

"Fine, thank you. Madame Pomfrey managed to shrink them back quite nicely." Hermione pulled a tray with bread towards her.

"Ron told us what happened. Want us to turn Malfoy into a ferret again?" George asked with a twinkle and Hermione suspected they just needed a reason to prank Malfoy again.

"Thanks, but it's not necessary." Hermione grinned. "Where is Harry?"

"Who knows? Probably still at his photo shooting." Ron grumbled beside her and explained in short sentences why Harry had been pulled out from class.

"Honestly, Ron, how long do you want to put up with this ridiculous behaviour?"

"Harry is the one cheating his way into the Tournament and I'm the one being ridiculous?" Angrily Ron put his cutlery down and stomped off from the hall.

"What was that about?" Fred asked with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, you didn't know? Your brother is convinced that Harry entered his name himself because he desperately wants more fame and attention." Hermione answered casually while she put food on her plate.

"Yeah, sure, because the one thing Harry lacks is attention." George snorted into his goblet. That made Hermione also laugh.

"They're both being stupid and stubborn." She explained but Fred stared at her curiously.

"What's wrong? Is there something in my face?" Hermione blushed under Fred's intense gaze.

"There's nothing wrong, just… did you change something, Granger? You look different." Fred asked curiously and obviously confused. Now George also eyed her carefully.

"Fred's right, you do look different."

"Oh, maybe it's my teeth?" Hermione smiled embarrassedly so that Fred and George could see her teeth. A sudden realisation was visible in the twins' expressions.

"My, my, Granger, did you shrink your teeth a bit too much?" Fred shook his head in mock-incredulity.

"Sized the day, didn't you?" George smirked. "Looks good."

"Yeah, it does. Your smile looks really nice, not that it hadn't been nice before." Fred nodded and a warm feeling spread through Hermione's chest. She would replay this moment in her head more often that she would ever admit.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione would have been on cloud nine, but unfortunately a few days later an article in the Daily Prophet from Rita Skeeter appeared, declaring Harry a tragic hero. The article was everywhere and Hermione tried her best to keep Harry from breaking down and yelling at people.

Wherever they were, students would read aloud from the article and by now Hermione had the suspicion that Draco Malfoy knew the damn thing by heart. He could probably quote it in his sleep. Hermione constantly told Harry to let himself get provoked by them. She herself took it with a stoic ignorance that Rita Skeeter had deemed her a possible love interest for Harry.

But Harry wasn't as good in ignoring everyone and Hermione knew it was because of Ron. If Ron would finally get his act together and talk with Harry again, then the situation would be so much better.

"I don't understand how you can be like that! Don't you see how Harry's suffering because of this dumb fight? And he's certainly not enjoying the attention and the fame and the bloody article from Rita Skeeter!" Hermione yelled one evening at Ron in the common room. Harry had already gone to bed, exhausted from the day.

"You don't get it," grumbled Ron. "But of course you're on his site since you two are apparently an item now, aren't you?"

"Are you actually believing this shit from Skeeter?" Now Hermione was tempted to curse Ron. Instead, she stormed off to her dorm room.

Ginny entered the room a minute after Hermione had thrown herself on her bed. To Hermione's immense relief Ginny didn't believe a word from Skeeter's terrible article.

"Are you alright? I think I never heard you curse so much."

"Your brother is an idiot." She stated simply. "Harry is miserable because of this fight and how the whole school treats him. And Ron is miserable too! But he is so fixated on feeling treated unfairly, that he would never admit it. They're both getting on my nerves!" Ginny just nodded and then settled down next to Hermione.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Harry's and Ron's fight wasn't the only thing that was constantly annoying Hermione. The second was Victor Krum, who had become a common face at the library and an ongoing source of anger. Not that he himself was so terrible. Krum was a model library user. He was silent, always put his books away neatly and seemed to study in honest.

The annoying thing about Krum was the dozens of girls that followed him everywhere. And they were in no case silent or neat. They constantly giggled in a corner and tried to talk with Krum till Madame Pince would lose her patience and throw them out.

Hermione wished Madame Pince wouldn't even let them in, but that was of course not possible. And it was also not possible to forbid Viktor Krum entrance to the library as Madame Pince had patiently explained to Hermione when she suggested it.

Grumbling Hermione accepted that she had to live with this for the school year and always searched for a table in a secluded corner. But unfortunately Krum seemed to like quiet places as much as Hermione and so they almost always ended up in the same part of the library. And it always ended with Hermione leaving soon after the fans arrived.

Hermione pitied Victor Krum. He was obviously not keen to get this kind of attention and did nothing to provoke it. Hermione suspected that the girls didn't even like Krum that much, he wasn't even good-looking. It was just because of his fame that they were following him everywhere. And Krum seemed to know this himself well enough.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione was eating breakfast with Ginny on Sunday morning when Harry came to them, a pale face and no appetite. And as soon as Hermione had finished her porridge Harry dragged her outside.

Breathlessly and with an ashen face he told her about his conversation with Sirius over the Floo network and about his meeting with Hagrid in the middle of the night. With a racing heart, Hermione listened.

_Dragons…_ Her first instinct was to demand that Harry would not take part. That he would just not show up. But of course it was not possible and so the two of them spent the day in the library, furiously searching for a spell - a simple spell according to Sirius - which would help Harry to get past his dragon.

But they found nothing and slowly Hermione was getting more and more anxious. The salvation came when Harry arrived at Herbology late the next day.

"Hermione, I need you to help me." He whispered, an anxious excitement in his voice.

"What do you think I've been trying to do, Harry?"

"I need to learn how to do a Summoning Charm, properly by tomorrow afternoon." Hermione almost dropped her notes. Of all things, Harry wanted to use that? The one charm he had trouble with since the beginning of the term.

And so they practised. They skipped lunch and used every second between classes. They hasty ate dinner and used the invisibility cloak to stay in an unused classroom till late into the night. And when it became too late, they went to the common room and practised there. Finally, after hours and hours, Harry had gotten it perfect and with a slightly better feeling, they both went to bed that night.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione refused to sit with Ron during the first task. Instead, she went with Ginny who was as anxious as Hermione was. And their emotional state went even more downhill when Ludo Bagman officially announced what the task was.

"Dragons! Oh, Hermione." Ginny muttered in a low voice. Her face was stricken with horror. Hermione's stomach was constantly hurting and it felt like it was cramping, probably because of all the stress.

And then the task started.

Cedric Diggory was first. Hermione watched how the transfigured a stone into a dog in order to side-track the dragon. And he was almost successful, but then the dragon remembered Cedric a second too soon and the Hufflepuff made it out alive with an only nasty wound. But he managed to get his egg.

"Hermione! Dragons! Harry has to fight a dragon!" Ron ran towards her as soon as Cedric was brought off the pitch.

"Brilliant deduction, Ron. How did you find out?" Hermione spat it. Her worry about Harry was at a new high after seeing what nasty wounds a dragon could do. But for a change, Ron didn't start to fight with her. He simply seemed too worried himself. And so they just stood side by side, watching the Champions.

Fleur and Krum both had good strategies. While Fleur managed to put her dragon to sleep, Krum attacked the eyes of his.

And then came Harry. And he was brilliant. Hermione almost drew blood from herself because she anxiously clawed her fingernails into her own skin. It took both Ron and Ginny to keep her from hurting herself.

And when it was finally over Hermione felt like a thousand pounds were lifted off her chest. She would need to send a whole box of chocolate or whiskey to Hagrid for showing Harry the dragons. Because honestly, without the information he would have never managed to do it.

With exasperation, Hermione watched how Ron and Harry later forgave each other without even saying much about it. Hermione didn't know why but this made her cry. After all the emotional turmoil of the day, something as simple as a reunion between friends made her cry like a little child.

Still shaken Hermione hurried off to the toilets as soon as possible to wash her face with cold water. She didn't want to look like a mess during the inevitable victory celebration in the common room. Quickly she washed her face and then decided that she could go to the toilet as well. But just as she wanted to throw away the used toilet paper Hermione looked down and saw blood. Not much, just a bit. But she knew exactly what it meant.

_Shit…_  Hermione did her best to act normal as she hurried back to the castle and Gryffindor Tower. She was sure that Harry and Ron would manage to get back by themselves. She had more necessary things to take care of.

"Hermione?" Lavender and Parvati came back to their shared dorm room a bit later. Both looked at her curiously as Hermione blushed. She still held the little bag with the pads in her hands. With a raised eyebrow Lavender spotted it and smiled.

"Well then, welcome to the club." The blonde winked.

"Membership includes cramps, emotional instability and a ravenous appetite for sweets once a month for the next forty or so years. Enjoy it." Parvati added. Since their last school year, the three girls had grown apart even more. While Parvati and Lavender weren't hostile towards Hermione anymore, there also had nothing to say to each other.

"And if you need something, pads or... you know," Lavender said.

"Thank you," Hermione tentatively smiled at them and then went down to the common room for the party.

The party was marvellous. Gryffindor house had outdone himself with preparing everything. There were pictures and posters in red and gold everywhere showing Harry on his broom. Cheers erupted when Harry and Ron entered the room.

"We just sent off a letter to Sirius quickly," Harry whispered as Hermione approached them.

For a change, Harry was fully enjoying the attention he was getting. Partly because it was well earned and party because Ron was not cross with him about it. Hermione watched with a grin how the two of them almost floated through the room, engaged in chats with numerous people.

"Want a jam tart, Hermione?" Fred asked while Harry, Ron, George and Neville discussed what the terrible noise from the Golden Egg meant. But Hermione was so shocked from being addressed suddenly that she just stared at Fred.

"It's all right. I haven't done anything to them. It's the custard creams you've got to watch." Behind them, Neville choked. "Just a little joke, Neville…" Fred laughed.

Hermione took a jam tart and decided that maybe she should try to get to know Fred better. Maybe, maybe... if there was a slight chance...

"Did you get all this from the kitchens, Fred?" She asked but inside she cursed herself. Her house-elf-project was surely not the best way to engage Fred in a conversation but it was too late now. And to her amazement, Fred actually answered her honestly.

"Yep," Fred grinned at her. With a high-pitched voice, he imitated a house-elf. " _Anything we can get you, sir, anything at all!_  They're dead helpful… get me a roast ox if I said I was peckish."

"And how do you get there?" Hermione asked innocently. She really wanted to know how to get inside the kitchens but she also wanted to keep up talking with Fred. This was maybe the first time she talked to him this long without being interrupted by someone.

"Easy, the concealed door behind a painting of a bowl of fruit. Just tickle the pear, and it giggles and-" Suddenly Fred stopped and looked suspiciously at her. "Why?"

"Nothing," Hermione said quickly.

"Going to try and lead the house-elves out on strike now, are you?" George stepped into the conversation. "Going to give up all the leaflet stuff and try and stir them up in rebellion?" Several people around them laughed and Hermione glared at George.

Not only did he - again - made fun of her efforts, he also effectively ended her talk with Fred. But the tension was lifted when Neville suddenly turned into a canary, making the whole room laugh. From one second to the other Fred and George were in full selling mood and started to advertise their products. And Hermione accepted that tonight she probably wouldn't get another chance to speak with Fred.


	13. The Crush

After Harry had successfully survived the first task, the upcoming December was thankfully calmer and more cheerful. The school was treating Harry significantly better and Hermione was relieved that Ron and Harry were on speaking terms again. It made things so much easier. Now she was finally able to catch up with her studies and her homework without having a gloomy Harry around.

And of course, now Hermione also had time to work on S.P.E.W. again. George had been right, more then he himself would ever know probably because Hermione in fact intended to work with the Elves directly. If witches and wizards weren't interested in changing something, then surely the elves themselves would want to change things for the better.

So one week after the first task Hermione carefully made her way to the kitchens. She tried to act as innocently as possible so that no teachers or other students would ask her why she was in this part of the castle. Normally no Gryffindor would have a reason to be there as there were no classrooms at this level.

Carefully Hermione approached the corridor where multiple pictures of food were and inspected them until she found the right one. She felt pretty stupid as she tickled the pear but then it actually started to giggle and the portrait swung open, revealing a door. Delighted Hermione stepped it.

The Hogwarts kitchens were one, big room underneath the Great Hall and looked exactly like the Great Hall. There were four tables at the places where the House Tables were above and Hermione suspected that the house elves used them to magically send the food up.

"Can we help, Miss?" A small house elf clad in a neat, white tea towel approached Hermione with a slight bow and a soft smile. Hermione suspected it was an elf woman because she reminded her of Winky.

"Hello, my name is Hermione Granger. I'm here to talk to you about your employment situation. I want to help you so that you're treated better. I want to end your enslavement so that you can be free…" Hermione started but as soon as the word _free_ was out of her mouth the small elf took a big step back.

"Oh no, Miss, Maddy doesn't want to be free. Maddy is happy to work for Hogwarts." Maddy the elf shook her head furiously.

"But surely you want to be treated better, right?" Hermione asked. "You want payment and days off and recognition for the hard work you're doing, right?"

"Payment?" Maddy squeaked loudly and suddenly most of the elves stopped working. And every single one of them stared at Hermione with big eyes.

"Please, Miss, no payment. No being free. Maddy likes it at Hogwarts. I like serving the younglings."

"But…" Hermione's confusion about the situation grew with every second. She had expected the elves to be glad that someone was offering them a better life.

"It's no use, Miss. They do not want what Dobby has." Another elf approached Hermione and he didn't seem frightened at all. He seemed genuinely interested and happy to see Hermione. He wasn't wearing the same white towels as the rest of the elves, but a colourful assortment of clothes. Even his socks were in vibrant colours.

"Did you say your name is Dobby?" Hermione asked the elf.

"Yes, Dobby it is. Dobby is a free elf and works at Hogwarts for payment as Miss said. But the other elves don't want anything to do with Dobby. They think Dobby is a bad elf for being free."

"Oh, I know all about you, Dobby." Hermione offered him her hand. "My name is Hermione. I'm friends with Harry."

"Harry Potter?" Dobby breathed in deeply, obviously overwhelmed from excitement, as he took Hermione's hand. "Miss is friends with Harry Potter? Dobby has wanted to talk with Harry Potter, but Dobby doesn't know how to approach."

"You know what, Dobby? I will bring Harry to you. I will show him the kitchens." Hermione beamed as she saw Dobby's happy face and how small tears of happiness formed in his big eyes.

Forgetting why Hermione had originally come to the kitchens for she ran back to the upper floors and searched for Harry and Ron. She finally found them when they exited the common room.

"Come with me, I have to show you something!" Without answering any questions Hermione pulled Harry and Ron with her till they were almost at the kitchens.

"Hermione, is this about the spew?" Harry stopped abruptly when he saw the picture with the pear.

"It's S.P.E.W., not spew. But no, it's not. It's… I want to show you." And without listening to the complaints from her best friends Hermione opened the hidden door.

"Harry Potter!" Dobby squeaked in excitement as soon as they stepped inside and with a smile, Hermione watched how Harry and Dobby talked. Dobby told them everything about how he came to Hogwarts, how much Professor Dumbledore was paying him and how happy he was to see Harry again.

Hermione honestly hoped that Harry and Ron would change their mind about S.P.E.W. now that they saw how happy Dobby was with his new life. Plus, Harry had been the one who helped to free Dobby. Surely he would understand now how important it was to help the other elves too.

And Hermione also had high hopes that Dobby would set a good example for the other elves. Working with them and showing them how wonderful a different lifestyle was could help open their eyes about the terrible treatment. But Hermione more and more realised that it would be a long and slow process to achieve her goals. The elves were clearly brainwashed and needed time to accept that life could be different for them.

Winky was the best example of that. The poor elf had been so oppressed and dependent on Mister Crouch, that she couldn't imagine a better life for herself. Whenever Hermione looked at her she was reminded of the _Stockholm-Syndrome_ , where victims identified with their kidnapper.

And that's what Hermione had to fight against. A whole society of creatures who were raised to believe they liked _helping and caring_ for witches and wizards and that this alone was enough to compensate for their hard work.

Hermione knew now more than ever that it would be a hard fight, but in the end, all social changes were hard, right?

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione's peaceful December was interrupted when Professor McGonagall made an announcement that had the impact of a small bomb. With a stern expression, their Head of House announced the upcoming Yule Ball for all fourth years and above and reminded them to behave. McGonagall also shocked Harry with the news that he had to open the dance with a partner which meant that Harry had to ask a girl out.

And that was when the whole mess started.

Since Harry had to find a Yule date, Ron, of course, didn't want to go alone. So both boys were a bundle of nerves and constantly complained about it. Hermione really couldn't understand why didn't just ask someone.

"Because they're always in groups," Harry muttered. Hermione knew it was just a flimsy excuse since Harry stared longingly in the direction of Cho Chang. He was too scared to ask the girl out of fear she would say no. Ron, on the other hand, was just an idiot, Hermione found.

But not only were the boys an annoying mess, but most of the girls were also too. Lavender and Parvati were constantly giggling and discussing who had asked whom out.

"I can't believe he asked you! I hope someone will ask me soon." Parvati sighed wistfully right as Hermione opened the door to her dorm room.

"Well, maybe you're lucky and _he_ will ask you," Lavender answered with a meaningful smile. Lavender and Parvati sat on the floor, on a plush rug that Lavender had brought at the beginning of the year, and drank tea.

"Oh Hermione, do you want to sit with us?" Parvati offered Hermione a cup of tea. After a second Hermione accepted and sat down.

"So, who asked you to the Ball, Lavender?" Hermione asked because she knew it was the polite thing to do. Plus, it would give them plenty to talk about.

"Seamus," Parvati giggled. "He asked her after dinner. I've never seen someone blush so deeply." Now Lavender, too, was blushing but she also had a small, happy smile in her face. In detail, Lavender and Parvati described to Hermione how Seamus had asked and what he had said exactly. And then they proceeded to analyse if what he had said was really what he meant or if there was a deeper meaning.

"You know, it's all about reading between the lines," Parvati explained. "So, Hermione, has anyone already asked you?"

"No, not yet," Hermione murmured into her tea.

"Well, it's still early. Parvati also doesn't have a date yet. Besides, you have Harry or Ron as an alternative, right? You can go as friends with one of them."

"Oh, well Harry has someone he wants to ask, but he's not brave enough," at this Parvati's smile vanished, "and Ron is kind of an idiot when it comes to girls."

"Do you know who Harry wants to ask?" Parvati asked, a blush on her cheeks.

 _Oh my_ , Hermione though, _one more rival for Ginny_.

"No, he hasn't told me," Hermione lied. She knew that Parvati and Lavender were the biggest gossips at Gryffindor Tower and telling them about Harry's crush on Cho was a sure way to inform the whole school about it. Another sigh escaped Parvati but she didn't pry any further.

"And how about you, Hermione, do you have someone you want to go to the ball with?" Lavender's eyes twinkled with curiosity.

"No, no one in particular," Hermione lied again, but this time she felt her heart race and she was sure that Lavender and Parvati knew she was lying. But they didn't ask again.

In the deepest part of her heart, Hermione wished for Fred to ask her to the ball. She daydreamed about dancing with him, wearing the beautiful dress robes from her mother. Sometimes, when she let her mind wander off, Hermione also dreamed of a kiss in the middle of the dancefloor.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The next day Hermione spent at the library, researching the history of house elves. She wanted to understand how the little creatures had become bound to magical families and why. Hermione was convinced that there had to be a starting point of this practice. No race was born into enslavement after all!

But to her frustration, there were no books about it. There were in general not many books about house elves and the few she found were about how to train and breed them.

"Excuse me, can I sit dovn?" Someone with a thick accent asked and curiously Hermione looked up. Right before her stood Viktor Krum, a stack of books under his arms, and a hopeful expression on his face. Hermione looked around and discovered that all the other tables were full, but thankfully with normal people and not with Krum's fans.

"Of course," she replied and went back to her books. For an hour, or maybe two, Hermione and Viktor Krum sat in silence. Each just reading. But then one frustrated sigh too much escaped Hermione and Krum raised an eyebrow at her.

"Vhat are you searching? Maybe I can help?" He offered.

"Well, I'm trying to find something about house elves and how they became bound to wizards. But there's nothing about it." Hermione huffed. At this point, she was too wind up to realise that Viktor Krum - Quidditch star player - was talking to her.

"Vhy are you searching for that?" Quietly Krum closed his own book.

"I'm trying to find a way to free them. The bound between wizards and house elves is nothing more than a form of enslavement and I want to change that. Give them better-living conditions. They should be paid for their work. Oh, and they should be able to deny a task when it's against their own comforts." Hermione added the last part when she remembered Winky and her fear of heights.

"Oh, vell, that's good then." Krum smiled. It was the first time Hermione actually saw him smile like that. It was a shy, small smile that made him look younger.

"You know, the bound betveen vizards and house elves is dark magic. Very dark. I think you von't find it in those books. In Durmstrang ve have a lot more books about dark magic. There you vould find it."

"Dark magic?" Hermione breathed. "That's fascinating and not surprising at all. In order to bind so many living creatures over generations to one family…" Hermione mind drifted off as she thought about how she could research about such magic bounds. Maybe the restricted section? But she would never get the permission for that. She could ask Harry for his invisibility cloak and maybe sneak into the library at night.

Lost in thought Hermione only realised much later that Viktor Krum had been sitting opposite of her the whole time. She only startled out of thought when he closed his books and started to pack.

"I'm sorry, my mind wandered off," Hermione explained with a blush.

"It's not a problem. It vas nice sitting vith you." Krum nodded and then walked off.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Professor McGonagall walked through the big room with fierce steps. All Gryffindor girls were sitting on the left side of the room, most of them giggling. The boys were on the other side, facing them, and looked either uncomfortable or confused. An old gramophone was playing in the corner.

"The Yule Ball is an occasion, where all of us are allowed to let… their hair down, as they say. But I still expect you all to uphold the good name and image of Gryffindor House. I won't allow you to befoul the name of Godric Gryffindor by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons." Hermione saw how Fred and George snickered at this, but then McGonagall stepped towards Ron.

"Mr Weasley, may I ask." In her usual stern manner, the old woman offered Ron her hand and pulled him to the dancefloor. "Now, put your hand on my waist."

"What?" Ron spluttered and Hermione, like the rest of the room, tried hard to suppress a giggle,

"Put your hand on my waist, Mr Weasley," McGonagall ordered again, more firmly. With a red face, Ron followed her orders and soon they were waltzing through the room. Harry, Fred and George on the other side of the room were almost laying on the floor from silent laughter.

"Now, everyone please get together in pairs and practice. I will make rounds later." Hermione watched how most of the boys in the room stood up and carefully approached the girls. Most of the older students seemed completely at ease, but the fourth years were especially nervous. The first, second and third years weren't there for the dance lessons as most of them wouldn't come to the ball.

Hermione looked through the room nervously. What if no one asked her? She didn't want to sit alone in a corner. Lavender and Seamus were already dancing and Parvati was practising with Neville but seemed quite unhappy with that. Hermione had just decided that it was probably best if she just searched for Harry when someone appeared before her.

"May I ask for this dance, Miss Granger?" With a cheeky grin, Fred made a mock bow before Hermione and offered her his hand. Afraid that her voice would betray her Hermione just nodded silently and stood up.

Her heart was beating so hard that Hermione thought everyone would be able to hear it. Slowly she followed Fred. He was still grinning and seemed completely at ease. Without further hesitation, he gingerly laid his hands on the proper place on Hermione's waist. Again her skin prickled at the places Fred was touching her.

From the corner of her eyes, Hermione saw that Ron was still dancing with Professor McGonagall, while Harry was dancing with an older girl, whose name Hermione didn't know. George was swirling Katie Bell through the room.

First slowly then a bit faster they started to sway. For a moment Hermione enjoyed the illusion of a dream come true. Fred was a good dancer, Hermione discovered. He was firm enough to lead her through the room without colliding with other dancers but not too controlling.

Under normal circumstances, Hermione would have had a wonderful time but she wasn't able to relax. She felt like a whole colony of ants was living under her skin, itching and tickling everywhere. Her heart was shortly before a collapse and it took Hermione all of her strength to not faint from nervousness.

"So, Granger, how is it going?" Fred asked, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Everything is fine…" Hermione answered slowly. As much as she enjoyed dancing with Fred, but it was still a bit suspicious.

"Well, good to hear. So, now tell me, who are you going to the ball with?" At this Hermione actually stumbled over her own feet and almost fell down. Only Fred's fast reactions saved her. He caught her arm before Hermione fell.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Hermione felt a blazing heat spreading on her neck and face. Without losing a second Fred picked up where they had left and soon they were dancing again like nothing had happened.

"Erm, no one asked me to the ball yet." She tried to sound casual but her voice came out high-pitched.

"Not even Ron or Harry?" Fred frowned. Hermione just shook her head. Why was everyone thinking that she would go with one of them?

"That's a shame. But I'm sure there is a fine young lad out there just waiting to ask you." Fred winked. Puzzled Hermione stared at him, waiting for the joke to come. But it didn't. Fred was just grinning widely and as the song ended he bowed again and then left Hermione to wander off somewhere with George.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"Ginny, what do you think does it mean when a boy asks if you have a date for the ball yet?" Hermione laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling. For two days she had tried to make sense of Fred's comment. But till now it had only ended her in serious overthinking and more dreams. Now she needed a second opinion.

Ginny was laying on the floor and played with Crookshanks. The ginger rolled a small ball towards the cat and then manipulated it with her wand so that Crooks could hunt a moving object. With a loud meow, the half-kneazle plunged itself onto the ball.

"Well, it means he wants to know if you have a date, right?" Ginny fished the ball from Crooks fangs and threw it again.

"Yeah, but why does he want to know that?" Hermione rolled one of her curls through her fingers. Since Fred had asked at the dance lesson she constantly thought about how to style her hair for the Yule Ball. Somehow now more than ever she wanted to look nice.

"Oh Hermione, don't pretend to be so stupid. Of course, he wants to ask you himself, doesn't he? And he just wanted to know if you're still free." Now Ginny was smiling widely. "Who is it? Who asked you?"

"I'm only telling you if he really asks me to the ball," Hermione stated firmly.

"Was it Ron? Or Neville?" Ginny stood up and laid down beside Hermione on the bed.

"No and no. Ron would never ask me. And I'm not telling you who it was. It will be embarrassing if he doesn't ask me."

"Fine," Ginny huffed. "But I'm actually surprised that neither Ron nor Harry asked you. It would be so easy if you would just go as friends. Instead, those two idiots are stressing themselves out with trying to find a date."

"Well, they _are_ idiots," Hermione mumbled. She wasn't sure if it wasn't better to tell Ginny about Cho Chang. That Harry hadn't asked Hermione because he actually wanted to go with Cho. But it would also mean to betray Harry trust and so - again - Hermione swallowed down the words and hoped the best for both of her friends.

This night Hermione dreamed that Fred would ask her to the ball in the middle of the Great Hall, a firework lighting up the scene.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

It was two weeks before the ball when Hermione, Harry and Ron were at the common room, discussing how the boys could ask someone out. Harry was on the sofa, while Hermione lounged on one of the large armchairs. Ron sat on the floor, building a card house with exploding snap cards.

Right now Harry and Ron were again complaining that they couldn't talk to girls when they were with their friends. Hermione still found their behaviour ridiculous but she kept it to herself. She was quite glad that neither Ron or Harry had asked her. In the deepest part of her heart, she still hoped…

Suddenly with a loud BANG, the snap cards from Ron exploded and singed his eyebrows in the process. Harry and Hermione both suppressed a giggle while Ron tried to finger his face carefully.

"Nice look, Ron… goes well with your dress robes, that will." Fred and George appeared behind them and leisurely sat down beside Harry.

"Ron, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?" George asked.

"No, he's off delivering a letter. Why?" Ron still was touching his face. Hermione took pity on him and handed him her small pocket mirror.

"Because George wants to invite him to the ball," said Fred sarcastically.

"Because _we_ want to send a letter, you stupid great prat," said George.

"Who do you two keep writing to, eh?" Ron glared at them, but then his eyes widened comically when he saw how badly burned his eyebrows were.

"Nose out, Ron, or I'll burn that for you too," said Fred waving his wand threatening. "So… you lot got dates for the ball yet?"

"Nope," said Ron. Harry too shook his head a 'no'. Hermione decided to remain silent and just watched. But for a second Fred looked directly at her, like he expected an answer.

"Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or the good ones will be gone," Fred said to Ron, but he actually winked at Hermione and she felt how her face started to burn up. In her chest, her heart started to pound against her ribcage. That couldn't be happening, could it?

"Who're you going with, then?" asked Ron, scowling at George, who was snickering beside Fred.

"Angelina," said Fred promptly, without a trace of embarrassment. Hermione felt like a bucket full of ice water was tilted over her head. Suddenly she felt a different kind of burn in her chest and her throat was aching miserably.

"What, you've already asked her?" Ron asked taken aback. Hermione blinked to suppress the swelling tears in her eyes.

"Good point," Fred grinned. He turned his head and called across the room.

"Oi! Angelina!" Angelina was standing with Alicia Spinnet near the entrance and turned to them with an annoyed eye roll.

"What?"

"Want to come to the ball with me?"

 _I'm so stupid_ , Hermione closed her eyes for a few seconds. But that was a bad idea. It just made the tears come stronger and it took Hermione all of her willpower to calm herself down.

 _I won't lose control right here and right now. I'm stronger than that!_ When she opened her eyes again it was just in time to see Angelina.

"All right, then," the older girl shrugged and turned away.

"There you go, piece of cake" Fred got up with a yawn. George followed him. The last thing Hermione heard was that they wanted to use a school owl. On their way out Hermione saw how Fred and Angelina grinned at each other. Hermione stared after Fred till the portrait of the Fat Lady swung close again. Her heart felt like cut with thousands of razor blades.

Hermione watched Angelina carefully. She had always admired her and she knew quite well, that Angelina was amazing. And as Hermione realised how amazing, beautiful and cool Angelina really was, she asked herself why she had ever had the illusion that Fred could possibly ask her. How had she been so stupid? Of course, he would never ask her. She was just Hermione. Bookwork with bushy hair. Ron's best friend. Nothing more.

"We should get a move on, don't want to end up with a pair of trolls." Ron's annoyed voice brought Hermione back.

"A pair of what, excuse me?" She asked. Hermione knew her voice was slightly shaking.

"Well, I'd rather go alone than with someone like- Eloise Midgen," Ron explained airily.

"But Eloise is really nice..."

"Yeah, still wouldn't ask her." Ron shrugged.

"So basically you're going to take the best-looking girl who'll have you, even she is completely horrible?" A blazing fury took over Hermione and without waiting for an answer she went to her dorm room.

"Damn it!" She threw her things on her bed. "Damn It! DAMN IT!" She yelled into her pillow so that no one outside would hear her. Then the tears finally started to stream down her face.

_It's just a crush. Just a crush. I will get over it and then it will stop hurting. In a few weeks or months, it will be all over. Just a crush._

With that thought as her new mantra, Hermione cried herself to sleep.


	14. Dates and Dances

The next day Hermione felt like a wreck. Her heart ached, she was tired from a rough night with little sleep and her eyes were still red. When Harry asked if she was okay, she just shrugged and said that she had read all night. He seemed to believe her little lie without hesitation but Hermione felt like everyone would be able to see what was wrong with her. Like there was a big, fat stamp on her face that said _heartbroken_.

As usual, Hermione fled to the library to seek refuge from her daily problems. There she could lose herself in the realms of magical knowledge and theories. For hours Hermione immersed herself with her studies, her homework, and her research about house elves, and for a while, it worked quite well.

And then she would come back to the common room and see Fred. How he joked with George or Ron or Harry. How he talked with Angelina about the ball. And then the pain would cut into her heart again and again and again. And Hermione hated herself for being that way. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to be indifferent to Fred Weasley, to see him as Ron's older brother again. And not as someone who broke her heart without even knowing it.

To Hermione, the ball didn't matter anymore now. She even thought about visiting her family over the holidays instead of staying at Hogwarts as everyone else. But in the end, her curiosity won. Because no matter how painful the thought of seeing Fred and Angelina at the Yule Ball was, Hermione wanted to be there. She wanted to see the decorations and the food and the Weird Sisters.

"You know, I could take you as my date," Hermione said to Ginny as they both ate breakfast that morning.

"Do you think that's allowed?" Ginny beamed at the idea. The younger girl was gloomy since the day she had realised that she would probably not be able to go.

"Why not? McGonagall didn't say anything about same-sex-dates. You know what, we should actually do that. It's not like anyone is going to ask me anyway." Hermione said as she poured herself a glass of milk.

"Don't say that," Ginny frowned. "I bet someone will ask you. There's still time." Hermione just nodded but inside she didn't believe it. There were only two weeks left till the Yule Ball and most of the boys had already asked someone. The only ones who still didn't get their act together were Harry and Ron.

_Maybe I should just ask someone myself, instead of waiting for some idiots like Harry or Ron to be brave enough_ , Hermione thought as she wandered the through the halls. Again, she was on her way to the library. Hermione still thought that taking Ginny was a good idea. Why wait for some guy to ask you if you could go with your friend?

Silently Hermione headed for her favourite table at the library, put down her bag and her books, and started to work. She wanted to get her work done before the holidays started so that she could enjoy her free time. And of course work on S.P.E.W.! With so many students at the castle over the holidays Hermione would surely find the time to convince some of them to join her efforts.

After a while, Hermione was finished with her homework and decided to search for some light reading for her evenings and upcoming holidays. She liked history books the best because they helped her to understand how the magical world worked and why certain things had become what they were today.

_Some things aren't logical, because they are historical,_ her grandfather had always said and Hermione thought it described the magical world perfectly.

Hermione was especially fascinated by Gringotts and the goblins right now. The goblins represented a race of creatures who had fought for their rights countless times and therefore had a lot of special rights. Hermione hoped that she could get some inspiration and strategies from the past for her fight for the house elves.

Leisurely Hermione strolled through the library between the large shelves. Lazily she inspected book titles, inhaled the smell of the parchment, and just enjoyed the silence. She loved discovering the large library. No matter how much time she spent here, she always discovered something new.

And there were so many things to discover. Shelves full of books, which you only recognised when you stood right before them, or tiny study rooms hidden behind shelves. The library truly was a place full of wonders for Hermione.

When she was finally satisfied with the number of books she wanted to read, Hermione waved her wand and the large stack of books followed her to her table. She had learned in the last years that using magic for little things like that was no problem for Madam Pince or the other Professor, and so Hermione used magic wisely to make her everyday tasks easier.

"I think you lost one," a voice called behind her, right as Hermione started to stuff the books into her bag. She turned and saw how Viktor Krum approached her, one of her books in his hands. Carefully he handed her _House Elves And Self-Hatred, Vol, 7_.

"I see, you are still vorking on the house elves."

"Of course, when I have a goal, I don't give up so easily." With a _thank you_ Hermione pushed the books deep into her bag, fully prepared that Krum would say something hurtful about her goals like most of the other students.

"Vell, I think that's really good. I like people vho vork for vhat they vant. Vork hard to reach their goals." Krum said and for a moment she wasn't sure what to make of that comment.

"Well, I try my best," Hermione smiled shyly.

"It might be stupid to ask, but do you have a date for the ball?" Krum suddenly asked, a nervous expression on his face. Hermione blushed.

"No, I don't. I thought about going with a girlfriend."

"Oh, vell, that's sound nice…" Krum hesitated for a moment, then with an expression of determination, he looked Hermione in the eyes for the first time.

"Do you maybe vant to go with me? To the ball, I mean. The champions need dates and I don't know many people here and… actually, I vanted to ask you for veeks, I came to the library just to ask you but then I vas never brave enough to do it…" Hermione had some trouble to understand Krum's nervous ranting, his accent didn't make it easier, but she understood the main point.

Viktor Krum just asked her out to the Yule Ball. Her, Hermione Granger, bookworm supreme. For a few seconds, she just stared at him, contemplating if she should say yes. After all, she more or less had promised Ginny that they could go together. But then Hermione tried to imagine the face of her best girlfriend if she told Ginny that she had actually said _no_ to _Viktor Krum_. Ginny would be aghast.

"Yes, I would like to go to the ball with you," a nervous smile escaped Hermione.

"Oh, that's vonderful, Thank you." A bright smile appeared on Krum's face. "You vant to meet me at the Entrance Hall before the Ball? I vould come to you but I think ve're not allowed to know vhere your dormitories are."

"Yeah, that's fine." Hermione laughed. Talking with Krum was quite easy as soon as he actually started to talk instead of brooding in a corner over some book.

"Oh, I think we never introduced ourselves. My name is Hermione-"

"Granger, I know. I'm Viktor." Krum offered her his hand and Hermione couldn't help but grin at him.

"Krum, I know," she joked and grabbed her bag. "See you at the ball, Viktor." With a slightly skipping heart Hermione almost ran back to the Gryffindor common room. She needed to find Ginny!

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Unfortunately, Hermione didn't find Ginny until the next morning at breakfast. But Hermione didn't want to tell her when Harry, Ron and so many other students were around.

"Ginny, are you free tonight?" The redhead nodded. "Good, I need to tell you something. In my room after dinner?" With a grin, Hermione left the other girl behind and followed Harry and Ron to class. As always Hermione took notes and followed the classes perfectly, but still, her thoughts started to wander now and then.

She realised that she was actually a bit nervous about going to the ball with Viktor Krum. Everyone would see her with him! And he was the topic of most gossip magazines and everywhere at Hogwarts. Hermione had originally planned to be as invisible as possible at the ball, but now that wouldn't work anymore. Everyone would look at her, talk about her too, probably, and most of the girls would be terribly jealous.

_Maybe this isn't a good idea_ , she thought as she scribbled down the notes from the blackboard at Moody's lesson. _I hate being the centre of attention_.

But then another thought, a petty thought, crossed her mind. The thought that maybe the girls wouldn't be the only ones who became jealous that evening. Maybe, just maybe, someone else would see her with Krum - Quidditch star and Champion - and would get jealous too. Someone with red hair, freckles and a smirk that made Hermione's heart beat faster.

The thought of Fred getting jealous started a series of pleasant daydreams in Hermione's head, but she quickly ended them. She couldn't afford to dream about such things and get her own hopes up again.

Swiftly Hermione packed her bag after the lesson and headed for Ancient Runes. It was her last class of the day while Harry and Ron were already finished.

"Hermione, wait!" Hermione turned and saw Neville running after her. Slightly out of breath the boy stopped before her and took a few deep breaths before he was able to talk again.

"Everything okay, Neville? Do you need help with something?" At this Neville blushed furiously.

"Well, no, not exactly. I wanted to ask you… Do you want to go to the ball with me?" Neville's face and neck were now covered with red spots from his obvious nervousness. Hermione too felt her face heat up.

"I'm sorry, someone already asked me, Neville." She explained with discomfort. If Neville had asked sooner, she would have actually gone with him. Hermione liked Neville. He was nice and a good conversation partner and during lessons they always had fun, even when Neville had problems to keep up.

"Oh, okay, no problem." Defeated Neville started to walk away again.

"Ask Ginny Weasley! She wants to go to the ball but she's too young. I'm sure she will say yes." Hermione called after Neville and he gave her a small smile.

"I will try, thanks for the tip."

Hours later Hermione went up to her dorm room after dinner to meet a curious and energetic Ginny, who was almost jumping up and down on Hermione's bed. Crookshanks was sitting on the window sill and watched Ginny with a grumpy face. It seemed like her vibrating curiosity was disturbing Crooks late nap.

"You will never believe it!" Ginny squeaked. "I'm going to the ball. Neville just asked me." Ginny almost fell off the bed from excitement.

"That's nice," Hermione smiled as she offered Crookshanks a treat. Purring the cat hopped down and rubbed his head on Hermione's legs. Carefully Hermione picked him up and sat down beside Ginny.

"Aaaand, he also told me that you already have a date! Who is it? Is it the guy you asked me about? The one who wanted to know if you already have a date." A sudden stitch of pain coursed through Hermione's heart like a fine needle. She hadn't exactly forgotten about Fred and Angelina's date for the ball but for one whole, wonderful day it hadn't hurt as much.

"No, no it's someone different. The other guy already has a date for the ball."

_And I don't get why he even asked me about my date_ , Hermione added in her mind as she pulled Crooks into her lap and tried to push every thought of Fred Weasley aside. Maybe a date with someone different to the ball was exactly what she needed to get over this damn crush.

"So, who is it? Who asked you?"

"Viktor Krum," Hermione couldn't suppress the beaming smile.

"Are you kidding me?" Ginny jumped up, an equally big grin on her face.

"No, I'm serious. He asked me yesterday at the library. He said he wanted to for weeks but he never dared to, but yesterday we talked and he asked." Hermione knew she was smiling stupidly wide but she didn't care. Maybe Viktor Krum wasn't the man she had dreamed of going to the ball with but that didn't mean that she couldn't have a good evening with him. He seemed genuinely nice and surely they would have a good time.

"That's so romantic," Ginny sighed. "Do you think he likes you?"

"Oh, I haven't thought about it like that," Hermione said, taken aback by the question. The thought about someone like Viktor Krum having a romantic interest in her hadn't occurred her till now. And Hermione didn't dare to think about it. She would have a nice evening and everything else was unimportant right now.

"Well, right now that doesn't matter anyway, right? You're going to the ball either way and you will have a wonderful evening with a famous Quidditch star and Triwizard Champion… Merlin, Mione, we have to take pictures for your parents. And for my parents - Mum will want some - and from Ron's face when you tell him about Krum. Please let me be there when you tell him, I need to see that. It's seriously the only thing I wish for this Christmas. He's such a big fan, I wouldn't be surprised if Ron tries to ask Krum himself."

Hermione giggled as Ginny blabbered on about how jealous Ron would be of Hermione to get the chance to talk with Krum. They spent the rest of the evening talking about their dates and the upcoming ball. Ginny was actually quite happy to go with Neville. She too, like Hermione, found he was a nice guy with a good heart and that they would have a good time together.

It was late when Ginny and Hermione finally called it a day and went to bed. Hermione was almost instantly asleep, Crookshanks snuggled into her side, and dreamed of the ball again. And again Fred was there and asked her for a dance.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"Let's make a deal," Ron offered Harry his hand. "When we both come back to the common room this evening we will have dates, okay?" Harry nodded and they shook hands, like sealing a deal, while Hermione rolled her eyes.

For the rest of the day, Hermione had the questionable pleasure to watch Harry and Ron chicken out at every possible opportunity. It was like their pact had made them even more nervous instead of braver. Annoyed she left them on their own and went to the library.

It didn't take long till Viktor Krum once again and politely asked if he could sit with her. Nervously Hermione nodded. She wasn't quite sure how she should behave in a situation like that. They would go on a date soon and it would be Hermione's first date. Even if it wasn't something romantic, she still had no idea what to do.

But Krum made it easy for her. They talked a bit and then they both started with their books again. There was no uncomfortable silence and as Hermione went down for dinner Krum escorted her to the Great Hall. Most people would probably think nothing about their small encounter, but Hermione saw that Lavender and Parvati were eyeing her curiously. Quickly Hermione searched for Harry, Ron or Ginny, but none of them was there. So she just ate a small meal and then headed back to the common room.

The scene that unfolded there before her eyes was quite strange. Harry and Ron were both laughing like lunatics about something while Ginny stood before them with a flushed face.

"Stop laughing, you gits." Hermione heard Ginny scold as she approached.

"Why weren't you two at dinner?" She asked as she stood beside Ginny. She thought she heard Ron snigger something about Neville, but she wasn't sure.

"Because they've both just been turned down by girls they asked to the ball," Ginny answered instead in a cold voice. That silenced both boys quickly and efficiently.

"All the good-looking ones taken, Ron? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you." Hermine couldn't help the sarcastic little comment. She still was a bit cross with Ron for being so superficial.

"Hermione, Neville's right - you are a girl…" Ron suddenly looked at Hermione like he had never seen her before.

"Oh, well spotted," she said acidly. She wasn't sure how he had come to this brilliant deduction but Hermione was sure that she wouldn't like whatever Ron was going to say next.

"Well, you can come with one of us!" He suggested with a smile like all his problems were suddenly solved.

"No, I can't," she snapped.

"Oh, come on," Ron said impatiently, "we need partners, we're going to look stupid if we haven't got any, everyone else has…"

"I can't come with you, because I'm going with someone else," Hermione stated and felt how she blushed but she didn't really care right now.

"No, you're not. You just said that to get rid of Neville." Bewildered Hermione stared at Ron while Harry looked a bit afraid. Now she knew what they had been laughing about before.

"Oh, did I? Just because it took _you_ three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one _else_ has spotted I'm a girl!" Hermione summoned all her will-power to not scream at Ron. For a moment he stared at her, but then he grinned again. Hermione's fingers itched to slap the grin from his face.

"Okay, okay, we know you're a girl. That do? Will you come now?" At this pure anger surged through her veins.

"I already told you, I'm going with someone else." And with a final dirty look at Ron, she stormed off to her dorm room.

It was an hour later when Parvati came to their room, alone for a change, and sat down to brush her hair.

"So, Harry asked me to go to the ball with him," Parvati purred, obviously delighted. "And Ron is going with Padma," Parvati added when Hermione didn't react.

"That sounds wonderful," Hermione pressed through her teeth. She was still furious with Ron. But she was writing a letter to her parents right now so she tried to stay calm and sound happy so that they wouldn't worry about her. She knew her father would flip out on the thought of his little girl having boys' troubles.

"I really thought you would go with one of them," Parvati said casually, but Hermione knew her too well. Parvati probably knew that Hermione was going with someone else and now tried to pry information out of her.

"Well, I don't care for Ron right now and Harry didn't ask. If you excuse me," Hermione finished her letter and went for the owlery. The night air and the first snow cooled her anger down quickly and after a relaxing walk, Hermione went directly to bed.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The week before the ball was permanent torture for Hermione. On every possible occasion, Ron would ask her who her ball date was. And every time she would tell him that it was a secret. That would shut him up for an hour or two and then he would ask again. Ron asked at every possible moment in order to surprise her and maybe get the answer out of her that way. But Hermione was aware of his strategy. And his persistence was annoying as hell. But at least Ron was equally annoyed by her refusal.

"He thinks you're lying," Ginny explained.

"He's a git," Hermione frowned towards Ron, who was watching her and Ginny from the other side of the common room.

Hermione didn't want to tell Ron about Krum for that exact reason. Ron would never believe her and surely laugh about her. Plus, Hermione didn't want to be one of those girls who bragged about Viktor Krum at every opportunity. She was sure that Krum wasn't the kind of guy who would like that.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

When Christmas was finally here and with it the evening of the Yule Ball, the whole castle was humming and vibrating with excited energy from hundreds of students.

Most students of Gryffindor House spent the morning with unpacking their gifts in their dorm room or the common room. Hermione opened hers in her bed while Parvati and Lavender slowly woke up.

"Merry Christmas, Hermione." Lavender opened her curtains with a yawn and lazily picked up one of her own gifts.

"Merry Christmas." Grinning Hermione opened a package from her parents with new books and a beautiful necklace for the evening. Besides a card from both her parents, there was also a small note from her mother.

_Hermione,_

_Mrs Weasley assured me that this product is the best for curly hair. Put it to good use and have fun tonight,_

_Love Mum._

Hermione opened a smaller package with a pot of _Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and Scalp Treatment_. Hermione shook her head at her mother who always said that Hermione had to take better care of her hair.

"Oh, is that for tonight?" Parvati asked. "You know, Lavender can help you with your hair. She's really good."

"That would be nice. I have no idea how to use this stuff."

The rest of the day Hermione spent with a leisure breakfast, which had an enormous variety of Christmas dishes from different countries, and in front of the fireplace in the common room. Harry, Ron, Dean and Seamus were playing exploding snap while Ginny and Neville tried to figure out how he had to wear his bow.

Hermione was reading in front of the fire when Fred, George and Lee interrupted her quiet afternoon.

"How about a snowball fight?" Fred asked their little group.

"Snow's perfect right now." George waggled his eyebrows. The boys and Ginny, of course, were all in and with a bit reluctance, Hermione and Neville followed them. They were both not keen on getting wet and cold from the snow so they stayed aside and sat on a bank. Hermione conjured some of her blue flames to keep them warm and for a while, they just watched the others.

Hermione couldn't help herself with watching Fred most of the time. He and George were working as a perfect team with Lee by their side. The three of them managed to hit the others quite often. Only Ginny was equally vicious.

After a while, Neville and Hermione started to comment on the moves and tactics in the snowball fight and both of them tried to imitate Lee' commentating skills as good as possible. They were both terrible of course but it helped Hermione to not look at Fred too often. But no matter how much Hermione tried to fight it, her eyes always travelled back to Fred.

How he moved in the snow. His brilliant reflexes. His smile when he managed to hit someone. His laugh when he ducked away from a snowball in time. How his shaggy red hair fell into his eyes and how he tried to blow it away impatiently.

"I'm a bit nervous," Neville suddenly stated. "I'm not a good dancer and I don't want to embarrass myself or Ginny."

"Don't worry, just try to relax and have fun. I'm sure you will have a brilliant night."

"I will, and thank you for helping me to find a date. My grandmother would have been so disappointed if I went alone. Even if it's just a date out of pity." Neville made a miserable face.

"Oh no, Ginny would never go with you out of pity. You should have seen her face when she told me that you asked her. She's really happy to have the chance to go to the ball. Don't worry, Neville."

"Well, when you say so." He shrugged. "Ron says, you lied because you didn't want to go with me. I heard it when he talked to Seamus and Dean about it." Now Neville's voice was an embarrassed whisper and Hermione made a mental note to give Ron a good scolding.

"What a git!" Hermione glared at Ron, who was just getting a face full of snow from Ginny and George. "That's not the reason, I said no. I really am going with someone else."

"It's quite okay, Hermione." Neville forced a smile, but Hermione shook her head.

"Promise me to not tell Ron?" Neville nodded. "I'm going with Viktor Krum," Hermione whispered. Neville's eyes widened comically and she laughed a bit.

"I know, I almost couldn't believe it myself. Now, I have to get ready." Hermione hugged Neville and called a quick goodbye to the others.

"You need three hours to get ready? Who are you going with?" Ron yelled after her but Hermione ignored him.

Hermione arrived at her dorm room when Lavender and Parvati were already in full preparation mood. There were beauty articles everywhere and the two were discussing a hairstyle or something else.

"Are you kidding me? That would look ridiculous on me." Parvati screeched when Hermione entered the room. "Hermione! Look at this. Which one would you choose for me?" The brunette showed a magazine with a different hairstyle to Hermione and pointed out two of them. After a second Hermione randomly picked one.

"Ha! See, Hermione says so too," Parvati grinned triumphantly while Lavender rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay, then let's do it that way. Hermione, I can do your hair after you showered." Lavender offered and with a smile Hermione vanished into the small bathroom. She took half an hour to shower, wash her hair multiple times and use some conditioner. Hermione even used the razor, her mother had given her and shaved her armpits and legs. She felt really grown-up while doing so.

They spent the remaining time until the beginning of the ball by getting ready and chatting. Lavender and Parvati helped Hermione with working the sleekeazy into Hermione's hair, straightened it mercilessly and in the end, they charmed it into an elegant knot at the back of her head. In between, her two roommates tried to find out with whom Hermione was going to the ball. But she remained silent. She actually had fun with riling the two up about it. The afternoon, in general, was fun, Hermione had to admit.

Shortly before the ball started Hermione went down to the Great Hall to meet up with Viktor. Her body was a bundle of nervousness and Hermione was really glad that most of the Hogwarts students were still at their dorm.

With a shy smile, Viktor Krum approached her as he and his classmates from Durmstrang entered the hall together. They were all wearing the same blood red dress robes, probably a formal school uniform.

"Hello," Viktor bowed formally before Hermione, then offered her his arm. By now the Great Hall was filled with students - chattering girls, couples, who eyed each other nervously, and joking boys - and Hermione spotted Harry and Ron near the entrance door with Parvati and Padma.

While Parvati looked quite pleased with herself and Harry, Padma was eyeing Ron with obvious distaste. Parvati had told Hermione and Lavender earlier that Padma was only going with Ron as a favour for Parvati. Hermione's roommate had a not so small crush on Harry and had wanted to impress him with providing a date for his best friend. But Hermione could see that Harry's mind was elsewhere or more precisely with someone else.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione had a brilliant time at the Yule Ball. Once Viktor Krum had started to talk to her Hermione found that he really was a nice and interesting conversation partner. He told her a lot about Durmstrang, his lessons there and his time with the Bulgarian Quidditch Team. But he also listened very patiently to Hermione's opinion about house elves and her interest in Arithmancy.

Hermione had to admit that Viktor was nice, polite and an almost perfect ball date. But most importantly he was no danger for her heart. Because no matter how much of a good time Hermione had with him, it didn't change her feelings for Fred.

Quite often she caught herself watching Fred and Angelina during the meal. They sat at a table with George, who came with Katie, and Lee and Alicia. Fred and George had managed to charm their second-hand dress robes way better than Ron and looked both stunningly good. Fred was wearing deep blue robes, while George's were dark grey, and Hermine found that Fred's suited him just a bit better. It matched his fiery red hair perfectly.

And Angelina… well, Angelina looked amazing. Her robes were bronze and glimmered golden in the right light. She had her hair in a tight knot on the back of her head and only a tad of make-up and lipstick on her face. With an aching heart, Hermione realised that Fred and Angelina looked good together. Both tall, lean and sporty, with happy, twinkling eyes and jokes on their lips. Even with all the other people at the table, they seemed to be in their own little world.

But thank Merlin, Viktor Krum was such a good company. As soon as the first dance of the Champions with their dates was over, he convinced Hermione to stay on the dancefloor with him. She was reluctant at first but then she gave in and let go.

And so they danced and danced and danced. It felt like hours and Hermione actually had so much fun, that for the first time in weeks she forgot that Fred Weasley even existed. Hermione had seen him and Angelina at the beginning of the evening when they had danced so wildly that people had avoided them. But then she had lost sight of them.

Until the moment Fred pushed himself back into her mind by almost pushing her over on the dancefloor. Fred somehow bumped into Hermione's back while walking backwards himself and it was only for Viktor's fast reaction that she didn't topple over completely.

"Oh, Merlin, sorry Hermione," Fred steadied himself and grinned down on Hermione. His hair was sweaty, his face flush, and his eyes gleamed. He looked like he had the time of his life.

"No problem," Hermione smiled politely but she saw that Viktor looked like he wanted to object that. He glared at Fred in an unnerving and very intense way.

"You know," she turned to her date, "how about something to drink? I'm actually quite thirsty." Viktor nodded and rushed off to get them drinks, while Hermione tried to secure them some seats. She was more than thankful when she finally spotted Ron and Harry at the sidelines, sitting there by themselves and looking bored.

"It's hot, isn't it?" She said as she sat down beside Harry. "Viktor is just gone to get some drinks."

"Oh, you're calling him Viktor now? Not Vicky?" Ron spat and Hermione was taken aback. But before she could ask what he was on about Ron started to explain - or better show - his anger. He started to accuse her of fraternising with the enemy and betraying Harry and Hogwarts. Nothing Hermione said convinced Ron that she really had a good time with Viktor Krum and that she would never help him with the tournament.

"You know, he probably only asked you to get information or help for the next task! Why else would he ask you?" Ron finally yelled. And that was enough for Hermione. She stormed off, anger and rage blazing through her veins, she went off to find Viktor or get some fresh air or just to get away. She wasn't sure herself. She just needed to get away before she said or did something she would surely regret.

But when she was finally outside the Great Hall and leaned against the cold stone of the wall, she felt tears streaming down her face. Tears born from heartbreak about seeing Fred and Angelina. Tears born from fighting with her friend. Tears from frustration and anger. And tears from having such a wonderful night ruined.

A small sob escaped her as suddenly someone touched her shoulder.

"Hermione, are you okay?" She turned and for a moment she only saw red hair through her blurry, teary eyes. Her heart skipped a beat but then she recognised the grey dress robes.

"Oh George, it's… I'm okay. I just need a second." She wiped away the wet tears quickly and was glad that Lavender and Parvati had insisted on magical, waterproof make-up for the evening.

"Well, don't take it personally but you don't look okay. Come," and with a gentle pull George brought her outside and they sat down on a bench in the small courtyard.

"It's just Ron… he's such a…"

"Git, arse, prick, troll. Choose one and it will definitely fit." George suggested.

"He said-" but Hermione interrupted herself with a fresh sob. She hated crying mainly because it was so damn hard to stop it once she had started. A bit shy George handed her a handkerchief.

"No need to tell, I heard him. As I said, he's very, very stupid and for all Weasley men out there I would like to apologize for this embarrassing display of jealousy." George shook his head but Hermione only looked at him bewildered.

"Jealousy? You're kidding me, aren't you?"

"Nope, totally serious for once. Fred and I have an ongoing bet on when and why and how Ron will finally realise his feelings for you. And how long it will take him after that to tell you. Fred said he would realise before the ball and ask you to be his date, but I knew Ron was too stupid. I think it will take him till the end of the school year." George snickered but Hermione's heart grew cold.

_So, now tell me, who are you going to the ball with? So, now tell me, who are you going to the ball with? So, now tell me, who are you going to the ball with? So, now tell me, who are you going to the ball with? So, now tell me, who are you going to the ball with?_

Fred' voice asking her the same question over and over again sounded through her head. He had asked because of Ron. For his little brother. Because he had a bet with George. Because they both thought that Ron had feelings for her.

"Um, I'm not sure what to say about that," Hermione whispered, willing herself to stop crying right this moment. She needed a clear head now. And she needed to look less pathetic.

"No worries, you have to say nothing. Freddie and I know you well enough to see that you're not feeling the same way about Ron. I just wanted to tell you so that you could understand why he behaves that way. Don't be too harsh on him, okay? He's just a stupid teenage boy with feelings he doesn't understand himself and a best friend that looks like a brunette veela tonight." George winked. Hermione decided to follow his advice and said nothing.

They sat there for another ten minutes or so and when Hermione was finally feeling well enough they went back.

"Thank you, George," Hermione smiled at him. "For taking care of me. I'm sure that Katie already misses you, so I'm not holding you up any longer."

"Ah, no need to worry. I'm sure Katie is amusing herself quite well with someone," he winked. "We came as friends and just shared a few dances. The girl I wanted to ask originally was already taken." George grinned but had a sad look in his eyes.

"So, off you go. I can see your charming Champion is already searching for you." And indeed, Viktor was approaching them as soon as he saw Hermione. With a smile, he offered her a goblet of pumpkin juice and then asked for another dance.

The evening ended not long after that but at least it ended in a nice way. Viktor actually kissed Hermione's hand as they said goodbye and she felt a lot better when she climbed up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. It could have been a nice ending for a mostly nice evening if it hadn't been for Ron, who was entering the common room only a minute after Hermione.

"Oh, you're back already. I would have thought that Vicky would show you his ship or something like that." Hermione felt her face heat and just like that the anger flared again in her chest. Now that George had pointed it out to her she could clearly see the jealousy in Ron's behaviour and in his hurtful words.

"Well, if you hate it so much and then you should ask me yourself the next time. And not only as a last resort." She yelled. She knew it was petty and vengeful but right now she wanted to hurt Ron, just a little bit.

"You're completely missing the point," he stuttered back but Hermione was already halfway up the stairs and with a crashing sound she closed the door to her dorm room. And for once she was glad about having two roommates who loved to talk about boys and their behaviour.

In detail, the three girls talked about their night. While Lavender had a lovely evening with Seamus, Parvati was miffed with Harry's lack of interest in dancing and her in general. Hermione used the chance to blow off some steam and told them about Ron's behaviour and other two came to the same conclusion as Fred and George. Ron was jealous. For once Hermione didn't care that Parvati and Lavender were the biggest gossips ever. Half of Hogwarts had heard her fight with Ron anyway.

_Shit, that can't be good_ , Hermione thought later that night as she lay awake. That was the perfect plot for an ancient Greek tragedy. Boy loves girl, but girl is in love with boy's older brother, who is probably in love with another. Hermione could imagine quite well how Ron would react if he ever found out that she was in love with his brother...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> new chapter, new heartbreak. I'm sorry Hermione...
> 
> I know it seems like a lot of Ron bashing right now but I'm not making that up. It's all in the books and I think through Hermione's perspective it only becomes clearer. Because as we all know, Harry is as observant as a brick wall sometimes.


	15. Healing Hearts?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews :) I'm glad you enjoy the story

In the weeks after the Yule Ball Hermione and Ron had some kind of understanding. They spoke to each other but neither brought up the ball or Viktor Krum. They also were a bit too polite and too formal with each other, and Hermione could tell that it was grating on Harry's nerves.

Harry was back to being a bundle of nerves now that the second task wasn't that far away anymore but no matter what Hermione did or said, he always assured her that he was working on the golden egg. And that he was close to solving the puzzle. Hermione decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and believed him for now. If Harry needed help he would say so in time, she was sure.

The more pressing problem after the Christmas holidays was the absence of Hagrid. Their friend and Professor were absent from their first lesson after the holidays and after a not so amusing conversation with Draco Malfoy and the other Slytherins, the three found out why. Somehow Rita Skeeter had managed to find out about Hagrid's mother and his giant heritage. A massive article about Hagrid and his - unfortunately true - fondness for dangerous creatures had been published by the Daily Prophet and made it's round through the school like wildfire.

Hermione was fuming when she read the article. First Harry, now Hagrid. This woman was a menace! Of course, Harry, Ron and Hermione tried to speak to Hagrid as soon as possible but for weeks he hid away in his hut, ashamed and afraid probably, and refused to see anyone.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione strolled through the library, searching for a specific book about bonds. In one of the rare books about house elves bonds, she had found a cross-reference to this book and she thought that it might be her best shot on getting further information.

But again, Hermione wasn't lucky. Somehow this book was always borrowed by someone else when she looked for it. It was annoying. Hermione couldn't understand how such a normal and probably boring book as _Bonds in Theory and Practice_ could be so popular.

With a huff, Hermione went back to her table and started with her homework. It didn't take long till Viktor sat beside her, a bright smile on his face, and nodded as a greeting. Since the ball, this had become their little routine. They would meet up at the library, study a few hours, talk a bit in between, and then walk to the Great Hall together. And that was when the troubled usually started.

Since the ball, everyone was whispering whenever Hermione and Viktor were together at some place. But interestingly enough no one made comments towards Hermione. Not even Pansy Parkinson found the courage to belittle Hermione about her appearance as usual. It was an interesting but welcome change. But Hermione knew it rooted in the assumption that Viktor and she were some kind of couple.

A complete false assumption.

While Ginny, Lavender and Parvati were deeply surprised that there wasn't _more_ between them, Hermione thought it was quite okay this way. She liked Viktor and sometimes when he touched her by accident, she became a bit nervous, but deep inside she feared that she would never like him _that way_. She was still too hung up on her stupid and hopeless crush on Fred.

She just wasn't sure how Viktor thought about all of this. Till now he hadn't tried to touch her in a romantic way or something like that, not since the hand kiss after the ball, but still, sometimes Hermione thought he looked at a bit too long. She just wasn't sure what he exactly wanted from her. Or what she wanted from him. Were they friends - just friends - or was there a potential for _more_.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"What do you think of Michael Corner?" Ginny asked. Hermione was walking beside her friend down to the Great Hall. Harry and Ron were still not ready for breakfast so the girls had decided to go alone.

"Hm, I don't know him that well. He's smart, I think, gets good marks. Why?" Hermione sat down opposite from Ginny and saw that her younger friend blushed a bit.

"Well, we…" Ginny put some food on her plate, playing for time. "I talked to him at the Yule Ball. Till then I only knew him from seeing him in the halls, didn't even know his name before. Only that he is in your year."

"And?" Hermione asked as she watched how Ginny pushed her scrambled eggs around without eating them. The girl's face was almost as red as her hair.

"And he asked me for a date, next Hogsmeade weekend," Ginny whispered, now an even deeper shade of red spreading on her face and neck. Hermione just stared at her.

"I think I want to go." Now Ginny finally looked from her plate, a firm look in her eyes.

"What about your feelings for Harry?"

"They're obviously not gone, but… but I think it's time I make an effort to let go." Ginny took in a deep breath.

"At the Yule Ball, I watched Harry with Parvati. I was so jealous of her because she had the chance to go with him. And then I saw how he ignored her and looked at Cho the whole evening. And I imagined how terrible it would have been for me if I had been his date to the ball. Then Harry would have ignored me the whole time. And suddenly I realised he's already doing that." Ginny threw in a shaky breath.

"To Harry I'm invisible. He knows me as Ron's sister and as a human being, I think he even likes me, but not as a girl. He's not ignoring me on purpose or in a mean way, but in a way he still does. And it hurts. I want to let go and maybe going to Hogsmeade with Michael will help me with that."

Hermione stared at Ginny for a moment, her breakfast completely forgotten.

"What do you think?" Ginny bit her lip nervously.

"I think you're completely right. It's a good thing to let go of someone who doesn't see you. I think it's healthy to move on." Hermione said with a smile but inside she screamed.

Ginny's words had hit her where it hurt the most. Ginny's situation was so painfully similar to her's that Hermione wondered why she hadn't seen it sooner. They were both in love with someone older. Ron was their connection to this person. And they both were probably only seen as some sort of little sister by their love interest. And both Fred and Harry had feelings for another girl. Or at least Hermione believed Fred had feelings for Angelina.

Since the ball, nothing obvious had changed between Fred and Angelina. They were both joking with each other as before, hung around with their usual friends, and were never be seen alone. But since Hermione was hyper-aware of Fred and his behaviour, she saw how he looked and smiled at Angelina. There was definitely adoration and longing in his eyes.

As they finished their breakfast Hermione thought how right Ginny was. Maybe she needed to make an effort to forget about Fred. Maybe waiting for this crush to end on its own wasn't the best way.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

A few days later Hermione was again at the library. And again she tried to find this one, damn book about bonds and again it was not on its shelf. Right now she feared that she would never get her hands on this book.

Frustrated she started to wander along the tall shelves in hope that maybe the book was just at the wrong place. Slowly Hermione eyed all the book spines, read the titles, and grew more and more anxious. She hated not knowing things. And whoever had this book was actively keeping her from getting new knowledge.

"Have you found vhat you're looking for?" A voice behind her suddenly asked and Hermione turned a bit surprised. Viktor had told her after breakfast that he wouldn't be able to meet her today because Headmaster Karkaroff wanted to talk with him.

"Hey," she smiled, "no, unfortunately not. This book is always borrowed. And Madame Pince won't tell me who has it, so I can't even ask the person to bring it back." Hermione let out a small huff and leaned back against the bookshelf.

"Vell, I think today is your lucky day," Viktor grinned widely. Hermione had never seen him so happy before. From out of his bag he pulled a big, leather-bound book. _Bonds in Theory and Practice_ was embossed in golden letters on the dark brown leather.

Hermione let out a squeak. Mortified she clapped her hands before her face as she heard Madame Pince admonition from far away.

"Thank you," Hermione whispered and gingerly took the book in her hands.

"Headmaster Karkaroff borrowed it. I told him I vanted to research something. I have to bring it back in a veek." Viktor muttered, slightly blushing. And without knowing why Hermione also blushed. She couldn't believe he had found this book for her. For her research. For the house elves. Something she deeply believed in. It was the most thoughtful thing someone had ever done for her, Hermione realised while her stomach did a backflip.

"Thank you so, so much," Hermione breathed in the smell of old leather. Then she did something she never planned. She stretched on her tiptoes, the book firmly in her hands, and as quickly as a blink of an eye she pecked Viktor on the lips.

Heat radiated through her body as she comprehended what she just did. Viktor looked stunned. Slowly he blinked down at her, then his face too became bright red.

"I'm sor-" but before Hermione could finish her apology Viktor leaned down to her, one hand softly on her cheek, and kissed her. This time it wasn't just a peck. It was real, full kiss on the lips. Thousands of feelings thundered through Hermione at the same time.

She recognised how soft Viktor's lips were, how gentle he moved them, and how chaste this kiss still was. Hermione felt a bit insecure, she moved her own lips only tentative. The kiss didn't last that long, but it felt like hours. When Viktor finally pulled away, a small smile on his lips, Hermione felt like she was burning up from inside.

"I- thank you for the book," she stammered and hurried back to their usual table. For a second Hermione thought about just packing up and running away, but then she reminded herself that Viktor didn't deserve this.

Slowly she sat down, opened the book and looked up when Viktor took the chair opposite of her. His face was a big interrogations mark. Again heat rushed through Hermione's face as she shyly smiled at him. He first smiled, then they both grinned and opened their books.

They spent the rest of the afternoon as usual. Reading and studying. But this time there were a lot more secret glances, shy smiles and flushed faces involved.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione spent the night thumbing through the book but it was too much information and too little time. Curiously she searched for the chapter headlines - the book had no index - to evaluate which chapters would be best to read.

_General Theories about Bonds and Bondings… History of Bondings…_

_Bonds between Witches and Wizards…_ There she stopped to see which subchapters there were. _Marriage Bonds; Bonds between Family Members; Soul Bonds…_

Hermione itched to read but she had to know first if there was anything about house elves.

_Unintended Bonding; Bonds and Dark Magic…_ But as Hermione turned the next page she discovered that the rest of the pages were blackened. Someone had censored the book. Probably because of the Dark Magic. Disappointed Hermione laid the book aside and snuggled into her blanket. Tomorrow she would read the other chapters.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"What do you mean, you solved the puzzle? You said you solved it weeks ago?" Hermione shrieked when Harry told her with a proud face that he knew what the final task was. He had come to Hermione and Ron before breakfast to tell them about his little nightly adventure in the prefects' bathroom and what he witnessed later under his invisibility cloak about Snape and Moody. Harry and Ron were, of course, convinced that Snape was planning something, but Hermione was busy with thinking about more pressing matters.

"Does that really matter right now, Hermione? I need to survive one hour underwater and I have no idea how. Help me, please?" Her best friend looked at her and Ron with pleading eyes.

"Of course we will help you," Hermione nodded.

There were only two days left until the next task. Hardly any time at all. Inside Hermine was already screaming. Even if they found a spell in the next few hours, Harry still needed to learn it. And what if they only found a potion? Then they would need time to brew it!

After classes, Hermione, Harry and Ron almost ran into the library and started to collect books. Hermione ordered her friends to collect everything about water spells and charms, potions that transfigured humans, generally transfiguration spells and a lot more. Like headless chickens, Harry and Ron sprinted through the library - earning more than one sharp stare from Madame Pince - and covered the surface of three tables with books in all shapes and sizes.

While Ron and Harry were still searching for new literature, Hermione started to cross read through all the books. She had currently three open in front of her and tried to process as much information as possible.

Right as Hermione was about to get into work mood she saw a person waving at her from opposite the room. She looked up to see Viktor standing halfway behind a shelf.

"I'm going to get another book," Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron. Quickly she pulled Viktor with her behind two big shelves, which contained the most boring books about magical history. Nobody came here normally.

"Vhat are you doing?"

"Harry needs some help with the next task and…" She gestured back to the table. Viktor raised a knowing eyebrow. With wide eyes, Hermione realised that he had known for weeks. His swims in the Black Lake and his researches in the library in the last weeks, the meetings with Karkaroff. Viktor had been preparing for weeks.

"Okay," he nodded, "I just vanted to tell you that I von't be here tomorrow. Karkaroff vants me to stay in the ship till the beginning of the next task."

"Okay, then… Good luck." Hermione whispered. Suddenly it felt strange to talk about the Tournament. Viktor and Harry were rivals, and while Hermione and Viktor were… a thing, Hermione was still helping Harry. At least Viktor had never asked for her help, which made it easier. But now she felt weird.

Before Hermione could start to overthink the situation completely, Viktor softly tucked a curl behind her ear and leaned down slowly. As usual, he gave Hermione enough time to prevent the kiss. For a fleeting moment Hermione thought about the mess it would become if Ron would see them, but then she closed her eyes and the last gap between them.

In the last few days, Hermione and Viktor had shared a few short kisses between the shelves, where no one could see them. It was always short kisses, just pecks, and sometimes they held hands under the table. But that was it, nothing more.

But today the kiss was deeper. More passionate. Viktor pulled her closer to him by her hips and for a moment Hermione lost her balance. Instead, she took a step backwards and leaned with her back against one of the shelves. Viktor buried one hand in her curls while the other rested on her waist. She grabbed his sweater, pulling him closer, and wrapped one hand around his neck. Their lips moved hotly against each other. Their bodies were pressed together. Hermione felt a rush in her veins. Her heart beat like crazy and a nervous flutter took over her stomach. This kiss - this sensation - was so much more intense than before.

And then Viktor's hand travelled a bit lower, played with the hem of her sweater before he touched the naked skin of her stomach. Instantly Hermione pulled away from the kiss and softly laid her hand on top of his. Silently she shook her head a no while she looked Viktor in the eyes. He leaned his forehead against hers.

"I vill see you after the next task. I vill find you, I promise." There was a worried expression in his eyes but Hermione said nothing about it. She gave him a last peck, whispering a _Good Luck_ against his lips, and then went back to Harry and Ron. Every nerve in her body tingled nervously as she sat down again.

"Didn't you want to get a book," Ron asked, looking at her hair.

"I couldn't find it," Hermione answered as she flattened her hair again. Merlin, she hadn't thought about how she looked right now. Hastily she opened the next book beside her, started to bury herself in the research and tried to ignore the curious gazes from Ron. Harry was fortunately too preoccupied with his own worries to question her.

The rest of the day was spent with the three of them brooding over their research without getting anywhere. While Hermione started to get more and more annoyed with every second, Harry slowly became a nervous mess. Ron was no help at all. Frustrated they fell into their beds in the evening. The next day would be spent with research in every waking second.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"Oh, this is no use. Who on earth wants to make their nose hair grow into ringlets?" Hermione closed the book with a huff. It was starting to get darker outside and dinner would be served soon. In less than twelve hours the second task would begin and they had no way for Harry to master it.

"I wouldn't mind," the voice of Fred sounded. "Be a talking point, wouldn't it?" Fred and George emerged from behind a bookshelf. Both giggled a bit at Fred's joke. Hermione meanwhile tried hard not to look at Fred. She had avoided him since the Yule Ball and her realisation that he would probably never see her as something else than Ron's best friend.

"What are you two doing here?" Ron asked irritated.

"Looking for you," said George. "McGonagall wants you, Ron. And you, Hermione."

"Why?" Hermione asked surprised.

"Dunno… she was looking a bit grim, though," said Fred, while he thumbed through the book with the hair grow charms with interest.

"We are supposed to take you down to her office," George explained. Hermione wanted to protest, to say that it was more important that they stayed with Harry and helped him. But they couldn't do that. She turned to Harry.

"We will meet you back in the common room. Bring as many of these books as you can, ok?" Harry nodded with a terrified look on his face.

Ron and Hermione followed the whispering twins outside. Both Hermione and Ron felt like they were wasting precious time and hoped they could go back to the common room as soon as possible. Hermione already planned for a sleepless night with research and last minute flashes of brilliance.

"Oy, Ron, come here for a minute. There's a new product you should see." George shouted and grumbling Ron followed the order. Not without complaining and bickering, but he did it. Suddenly Fred was beside Hermione and she realised that George had baited Ron away from her on purpose.

"So, Granger, how is it going?"

"Everything is fine. We just need to get back to Harry as soon as possible." She answered coldly. She had decided that it wouldn't do her good to be too friendly with Fred. Polite distance was the best way to get over him. That, and snogging Viktor Krum in the library - which really helped splendidly.

"Yeah, I saw the books. What are you doing? Trying to learn everything for the O.W.L.s in one night?" Fred joked, a smirk on his handsome face.

"No, it's for the task tomorrow." She stated sternly. _Polite, but not friendly_ , that's the best way. For a second Fred's smile wavered.

"Well, good to know that Harry has his own team to back him up…" Now he nervously brushed a hand through his hair. "But actually I wanted to know how it's going with… Krum."

"Why? Want to make a bet about my love life again?" Hermione hissed. Anger flared in her. Fred Weasley had no right to ask her something like that.

"Woah, no…? I thought George made it clear that we only bet on Ron." Somehow the normally cool Fred seemed not so at ease as usual.

"So, why did you ask me if I already had a date if the bet was only about if Ron would ask me or not?" Hermione felt her anger boil. She knew it was childish and if she didn't have feelings for Fred than she would never be so sensitive about the matter. But she couldn't stop herself.

"Because I wanted to know if Ron still had a chance. I tried to give him a push in the right direction but as much as George and I enjoy making fun of Ron, we don't want him hurt. And a heartbreak wasn't what I was aiming for. I didn't want to convince him to ask you if you were already taken. Which you were when he finally asked." Fred explained in a calm voice like it was the most normal thing in the world to get involved in the sibling's life. Maybe it was. Hermione as an only child couldn't understand that.

"Yes, I was. And Ron didn't ask me because he wanted to go with me but because he had no other options. So, next time leave me out of your little schemes and bets and pranks. I'm not interested." _And soon I hopefully won't be interested in you any longer too_ , she added internally. She huffed. _Weasley boys are all incredibly stupid!_

"Okay, okay, no need to get your knickers into a twist, Granger," Fred frowned. "But still, how is it going with Krum. Are you and…"

"That's not your business." She cut him off. The last thing she wanted to do was discuss her maybe-relationship with the guy she still had annoyingly strong feelings for. The snogging session from the day before popped into her mind, distracting her for a second. How was it possible that she liked Viktor and liked kissing him but at the same time her feelings for Fred were so much stronger?

"Maybe, but I'm almost his age and I want to be sure that he treats you right." Fred stopped her, one hand on her shoulder. "Hermione, he's three years older than you and maybe has other... desires and expectations than you. George and I worry about you."

"No need to worry about me." Hermione felt how her heart did a happy little flip. Fred worried about her… _But only as a little sister! And George worries too_ , her inner voice scolded.

_Brotherly feelings..._ Trembling slightly she started to follow George and Ron again.

"Are you sure?" With two large steps, Fred was beside her again. "Look, you don't have to tell me, but if you need help someday…"

"Noted," Hermione nodded and then walked faster till she was walking with Ron again. There was an uneasy feeling in her chest. She felt heavy and somehow sad.

When they finally arrived at the Transfiguration classroom where Professor McGonagall was waiting for them, the twins left.

But as Ron and Hermione entered the room they saw that beside Professor McGonagall there were also Professor Dumbledore, Madame Maxime and Headmaster Karkaroff waiting for them. Cho Chang was also there, together with a silver-haired girl.

"Mr Weasley, Ms Granger, wonderful. Now we can begin." Dumbledore announced happily. "Let' start with the explanation first." Calm the Headmaster explained what the next task was and how the Champions were supposed to rescue a treasure each. Hermione tried very hard to look surprised but something about McGonagall eyeing her told her that she didn't do too well.

"As for the treasures, we decided that simple objects would be too easy. So, each Champion has to rescue the person dearest to him." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled amused. "For Ms Delacour, we have her little sister Gabrielle as a hostage. Mr Diggory will save Ms Chang," Hermione thought how upset Harry would probably be about this, "while Mr Weasley is here for Mr Potter. Ms Granger is the hostage for Mr Krum." Hermione blushed as Karkaroff looked down at her, pure distaste in his eyes.

_I vill find you, I promise,_ Viktor had said yesterday, Hermione remembered, _he already knew_.

"Do you all agree with the terms?" Dumbledore asked after he had explained the spell which would put them asleep for the next hours. Hermione and the other three nodded and then Professor McGonagall started.

A second later everything became black around Hermione and she slipped into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, a new chapter and we're getting closer to Hermione discovering who her soulmate is. I have a few things planned ahead in the plot and I'm kind of excited. I hope you like it as much as I do. And I know you all want to see them together, but it's still a slow burn and if you think the heartbreak till now was bad for Hermione, just wait when she discovers her soulmate. I feel slightly evil for enjoying this so much. Muhaha ;)


	16. Burning

Gasping for air Hermione came to her senses as her head broke through the surface of the Black Lake. First, she realised how cold it was. Every limb of her body felt ice cold, a burning cold creeping into her bones. Hermione struggled to fill her lungs with the chill February air, while she tried to swim. But her arms and legs felt heavy and immobile like a stone. For a horrible second, she had a flashback to the time when she had been petrified.

"Herminny," Viktor called as he grabbed her around her waist, helping her to stay afloat. "Are you okay?" Hermione just nodded, her lungs still felt like there was a fire burning them down from inside.

With hasty movements, they both swam to the shore, where Madame Pomfrey was already waiting. Hermione felt immensely grateful towards the old nurse when a blanket with a heating charm was wrapped firmly around her body.

"Poor girl, here have some tea." The nurse shoved a large cup of tea into Hermione's numb hands. Hermione wasn't even sure if she could feel her fingers properly as she tried to hold the cup to her lips.

"What about the others?" She asked when she finally thought that her vocal cords were warmed up enough.

"Mr Diggory and Ms Chang are already here," Madame Pomfrey nodded towards the couple, who sat a bit away, both still shivering. "Ms Delacour had to be rescued and failed the task. As for the rest, we're still waiting. But there are well beyond the time limit right now."

With worry, Hermione looked back to the calm surface of the Black Lake. There was no sign of anyone emerging from it in the next seconds. Hermione's heart clenched with worry. Her two best friends were down there… And she wasn't even sure how Harry had managed to get down there in the first place. When Hermione and Ron had left him the evening before, he had had no idea how to do it. How had he managed it? What kind of magic did he use? And had he done it right? Maybe the spell or potion hadn't been enough… had the effect worn off by now? Maybe Harry was struggling with getting air right now… maybe he was drowning...

As Hermione's mind went into a full overanalysing mood, Viktor sat down beside her and wrapped his own blanket around her.

"Don't, you need it," Hermione refused softly, but he shook his head.

"It's okay, I'm used to the cold," he took a sip from his tea. "They're vell, Potter and the redhead. Vhen I arrived Potter vas already there. He should be up here in any minute."

"Thank you, I worry about them," carefully, so that no one would see it, Viktor took her hand and started to draw soothing circles with his thumb

"Herminny, I vanted to ask you, you vant to visit me in Bulgaria next summer?" Shocked she turned to him.

"I never met someone like you before and if you vant, I vant you to meet my parents. I never felt that way before for a girl." As always Viktor looked a bit grumpy and gloomy like he always did when he wasn't smiling. Before Hermione could say anything her eyes went to his bare arms. First, she realised that Viktor was barely clothed, which made her blush. Then she realised that he had a soul mark. Well, of course, he had one, everyone had a soul mark. But Hermione had never thought about it before. But there it was. On Viktor's right, upper arm - normally invisible under his clothes - glowed the black mark in the form of a tiny…egg?

Hermione didn't know what to do with that new information. She had never once thought that Viktor could be her soulmate but seeing proof that he surely wasn't, that was an entirely different story. But before she could start to think about it or give Viktor an answer to his invitation, loud cheering disturbed her.

Her head snapped towards the lake where the red hair of Ron was vibrantly visible on the dark water. Beside him, a silvery blonde head emerged and then finally Harry, with his dark hair almost invisible. Hermione jumped up as her two best friends pulled Gabrielle Delacour to the shore.

"Harry!" With a scream, Hermione ran towards her friends and pulled Harry into a tight embrace. "You did all on your own!" Hasty Hermione wrapped one of the blankets around Harry, while Percy beside her fussed over Ron. She barely registered that Viktor snipped a beetle from her hair as she tried to check if Harry and Ron were both well.

There was big commotion while Madame Pomfrey tried to warm up all the Champions and hostages properly - she scolded Hermione quite badly for giving away her blanket - and Fleur thanked Harry and Ron again and again for saving her sister. But then finally the points were awarded and against all odds Harry and Cedric were on par.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

An hour later Hermione emerged from the bathroom clad in a fluffy bathrobe and finally able to feel every finger and toe again. She had taken the longest and hottest shower ever in order to warm up her frozen body and now she would drink the warm butterbeer, which Madame Pomfrey had prescribed them.

"Oh, there you are. I thought you would take all night," Ginny sighed dramatically as she stroked Crookshanks on her lap. The redhead had made herself comfortable on Hermione's bed, sweets dished up around her, and two hot goblins of butterbeer on the nightstand.

"Why aren't you at the party? I wanted to come down," Hermione said as she slipped into her warmest trousers and a comfy sweater. Humming she took the first sip of the warm butterbeer.

"Yeah, and we will go, but first you tell me how that happened!" Ginny exclaimed in an accusing voice.

"What do you mean?" Hermione cast a drying charm on her hair, one that made them less bushy and instead brought out her curls. Lavender had thought her this wonderful little spell after the ball.

"You being what Viktor Krum _will sorely miss_. When did this happen? You told me you two were only friends." Ginny emptied her own butterbeer in one go.

"We are-" Hermione tried but Ginny glared at her. "Okay, okay, maybe we're a little more than friends."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Well, it only happened a few days ago and I still don't know what we are. We're more than friends, probably, but we're not a couple or something like that, not really. Truth to be told, everything is like before. We meet at the library, we study and we talk, just now we…" Hermione bit her lip.

"Yeah, what do you do, tell me," Ginny grinned like the cat that got the cream.

"We kiss from time to time," Hermione admitted while she slipped into her shoes with a bright red head.

"You mean, you snog in hidden corners in the library," her younger friend laughed as Hermione tried to look innocent, but then a grin escaped her.

"Maybe," she admitted. "Now come, there is a party going on." Hermione pulled Ginny up - resulting in Crookshanks waking up with a hiss - and towards the staircase.

"Fine, but this is not over, Granger. I want details and I want them soon," Ginny growled playfully as they entered the loud common room.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The day after the second task was a lazy day for most of Hogwarts, and especially Gryffindor Tower. Somehow they had managed to party almost all night long without Professor McGonagall coming over to send them to bed. Now, most of the Gryffindors were sleepy - and most of the older students also hungover- and grumpy, and didn't manage to get up for breakfast.

Hermione was kind enough to bring Harry and Ron some toast to the common room before she vanished back to her dorm room for the rest of the morning. She wanted to snuggle up in her bed and read _Bonds in Theory and Practice_ in peace and quiet. That was Hermione's vision of a perfect Sunday morning. After dinner, she would meet Viktor for a walk around the Lake.

With a skipping heart, Hermione opened the book, breathed in the delicious smell of old leather and parchment, and leaned back. First, she skipped directly to the chapters about unintended bonding and dark magic, but as she had seen before, the pages were blackened. Determined Hermione grabbed her wand.

"Reparo," she murmured, but nothing happened.

"Reparifarge," was the next spell she tried, but again nothing happened. She huffed annoyed.

"Aparecium, Revelio!" Again nothing happened and Hermione found that she had to accept that someone didn't want her - or anyone else - to read these chapters. For a second she thought that maybe Karkaroff had blackened the pages to prevent Viktor from reading them, but that was ridiculous. Durmstrang students were allowed to study dark magic and someone like Karakaroff would probably encourage Viktor. Plus, the book was from the Hogwarts library, so the pages had probably already been blackened before.

_I wonder what Karkaroff wants with this book,_ Hermione thought as she thumbed through the pages. Then she was finally at the one chapter that she was interested in.

**_Bonds between Witches and Wizards - Bonds between Family Members; Soul Bonds_ **

_As explained in the previous chapters, magic itself is a bond that keeps the world and its inhabitants together in several ways and on several levels. But how this bond presents itself in practice can_ _wary_ _There_ _are three kinds of bonds between magical people: voluntary bonds, innate bonds and involuntary bonds. Voluntary bonds, as described in the previous chapter, - like marriage bonds or unbreakable vows - are bonds, which are cast with the consent of both parties. Innate bonds are bonds which are present from birth and can't be cut or destroyed. Involuntary bonds and unintended bonding - a special case -, are both often the result of dark magic and will be described in the following chapter._

_This chapter will discuss innate bonds, also often called 'natural bonds'. Innate bonds are for example family bonds, a connection between members of blood-related families, such as sibling bonds, or bonds between parent and child. But these bonds are mostly dormant and seldom visible or have consequences. Most family members live with these bonds their whole life without even realising their presence. The existence of the bond is simply not important for their daily life. The only known examples of family bonds which are recognisable are bonds between identical twins._

_It is one of the big questions in the researches about magical bonding how and why identical twins often have stronger sibling bonds as fraternal twins or normal siblings. One reason for the existence of these bonds could be the sharing of the mother's womb, which could result in also sharing magic with each other. Maybe this strengthens the bond between identical twins._

_It is also quite curious that not all identical twins share these special bonds. In my research, I met as many twin pairs with such a bond as without it. There isn't a logical reason why some twins' share these bonds while others don't._

_But there is one thing that is similar with all the twin pairs I questioned. They all describe their connection similarly. All of the twins described their connection as a feeling of security and calm when in the presence of their twin. As a person they could trust completely and whose well-being was the most important thing in the world. They also described that they were able to 'feel' the presence and current state of health of their twin most of the time. But, and that is most interesting, they all said they could in no way read each other's mind or emotion. The ability to know what the other was feeling or thinking, they said, was learned through the years, and not an ability provided by the bond._

_I found this quite interesting because it proves that these bonded twins not only all share a similar bond, but also know how this bond affects them. They can differentiate between the bond and their normal relationship as siblings. Plus, the twin bond doesn't force the relationship to be harmonic or friendly, as most of the twins explained that they already had several fights and arguments during their lives. The main result of their twin bond is, as it seems, that have the ability and wish to keep each other safe._

Hermione took a big breath and closed the book for a moment. That was awfully much information she had to think through. She didn't know that twins could have this kind of bond with each other. But as Hermione thought about how Fred and George interacted with each other, she was convinced that they had a twin bond. They always seemed to know where the other one was and were excellent at pretending to be each other.

_That's probably how they got so good at playing their little games and pranks_ , she thought, remembering how the twins had confused her with their names for more than two years. _But they're not able to read each other minds, interesting…_

Hermione had to suppress the urge to research more about twin bonds violently. That wasn't a good way to forget about Fred, she scolded herself. If she wanted to forget him than thinking about him and George, their bond, researching about it - maybe even ask them about it - was totally out of question.

Hermione opened the book again and skipped to the chapter about soulbonds. That would keep her occupied hopefully.

_Soul bonds are the most curious and mysterious magical bonds. Every magical person in the world seems to be born with one, but their origin and purpose are still unknown. But all magical cultures and communities interpret them in the same way: as a connection between two persons who complete each other. The physical sign of this connection - this bond - is the soul mark. This mark is also one of the reasons why the soul bond is so special. It is the only bond that shows itself on the body. While family bonds are in all cases invisible, marriage bonds only leave a mark because of the spell. The soul mark is the only mark that is there from birth. But curiously enough it only shows itself on the eleventh birthday of a witch or wizard._

_Why it shows itself at this specific age is a mystery but we know that our ancestors thought that eleven had to be a special age. That's why our children are starting their schooling after their eleventh birthday._

_The popular opinion is that a soul bond is a connection between two people who complete each other. And the soul mark - in this logic - gives us the ability to find this soulmate. Many facts support this thesis. For once the soul mark changes its shape two times. Each time because of a specific interaction with the soul mate._

_When the soul mark shows itself on the eleventh birthday it's not in its true shape. It's in most cases some kind of pre-state and only changes into its true form later. This first change happens when the soul mates touch for the first time. Then the soul mark shows its true face. Unfortunately, most soul marks are not visible when people are clothed, so they can't react to the change immediately._

_But the first change is what starts the search for the soul mate for most people, some having it easy while others have a lot of work, depending on if they still know who they touched during the day._

_The second change marks the end of the search for the soul mate as…_

Hermione flipped the page and to her horror the page was black. Black. Not readable. Useless.

"Oh no, no, no!" In her anger, Hermione closed the back with a loud thud and almost threw it into a corner. But in the last second, she held herself back and with a glare she put the book on her nightstand. No matter how angry she was, she couldn't damage a book. That was against everything she believed in.

Grumpy Hermione leaned back against her bed and pulled her shirt high enough to see her soul mark. Till her first trip to Hogwarts, it had been a small flower bud. That had been its pre-form. On her first Hogwarts trip, it had changed into the small rose, so Hermione's soul mate was surely a Hogwarts student. That left Hermione with hundreds of possibilities since there was no telling who she had touched on her search for Neville's toad during that day and later during the sorting and first feast. It could be everyone.

The whole soul mate concept seemed highly complicated to Hermione. How was a person able to find his or her soul mate when you just touched by accident on a busy street? At a store while grabbing for the same article? In theory, it sounded like the perfect setting of a romantic movie but in real life, it sounded like a hassle to Hermione. Her head swirled with questions the longer she thought about it.

Was the soul mate automatically the love of your life? But Lavender and Parvati had a platonic soul bond.

What if you fell in love with someone other than your soul mate? Because Hermione highly doubted that her soul mate was Fred, who she was painfully in love with.

And what about the witches and wizards who married muggles? Hermione knew there were half-bloods like Seamus out there, but muggle didn't have soul marks. How did this fit into this whole soul mate concept?

And what if you never met your soul mate in the first place? The world was such a big place, and even if the magical population wasn't that big worldwide, it still was sheer luck to meet and touch your soul mate in the first place. And then you had to search this person again…

_The real question is, do I even want to know who it is?_ Hermione thought as she stared at her soul mark. Do I want to pressure myself into finding that one person that will allegedly complete me? What if this person couldn't make her happy or complete her? What if that wasn't too much to ask for? Something her mother told her years ago now popped into Hermione's mind.

_It's highly unfair to think another person has the ability or the duty to make you happy. You have to be happy with yourself before you can make another happy. Don't ask for something that you can't give back._

Hermione pondered over these question for quite a while and read chapter three more times before she finally clothed herself and went down for dinner. She really needed to research this. She wanted - needed - to know more.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

After the second task life at Hogwarts changed dramatically for Hermione. One reason was of course that everyone was no teasing her merciless for being Viktor Krum's most _precious treasure_ , that he would miss the most. Somehow some of the Slytherins had gotten a copy of the golden egg riddle and were now reciting from it whenever Hermione was near. But only when Viktor wasn't around, of course.

But still, when Viktor and Hermione were together at some place at the castle, people would watch them openly like they were waiting for something. Maybe for proof that Hermione really was that important to the Quidditch star seeker. Or maybe for some scandal.

And they got their scandal when Rita Skeeter published her next article. Again Harry was the main focus, but this time Hermione played an unflattering role in it. Skeeter painted Hermione as some kind of cruel girl who played with the feelings of two famous young men and broke both their hearts in the process. At first, Hermione laughed about it, but then the hate mail started to come.

Countless howlers, cursed letters, and even some dangerous packages arrived for Hermione every morning. On the first day, her hands got hurt severely from opening one that was filled with bototuber pus. After that Hermione decided to not open them if possible, which resulted in the howlers exploding around her during breakfast at the Great Hall while she tried to remain dignified.

Hermine knew exactly why Skeeter was doing this. During their last Hogsmeade trip Hermione, Ron and Harry had visited Sirius in his secret hide-out to bring him food and discuss the tournament. They had talked quite a lot about the tragic past of Barty Crouch and his son and had discussed if Snape had something to do with the Death Eaters. So far, so normal. But then, when the tree had gone to the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer, they had met Rita Skeeter. Hermione knew it wasn't wise to confront the woman about her horrible articles. But she wasn't afraid of some like Skeeter. Maybe that was Hermione's Gryffindor courage showing. And now this article was the revenge.

Hermione was sure that Rita Skeeter thought that she had punished her quite well for being impudent towards the _reporter_ during their last Hogsmeade trip. Rita Skeeter probably thought that she had scared Hermione. But the opposite was the case. Hermione was more determined than ever to show this wannabe journalist the door out of all of their lives. She was damn sure that Skeeter used an illegal way to get her information and Hermione would find out how exactly she did it.

But the hate mail and the gossip weren't the only things that had changed after the second task. Somehow Hermione and Viktor's relationship had changed too. Now that they were under surveillance from curious students everywhere they went, they could seldom sit together in peace to talk and study. Instead, it almost felt like they were on the run constantly, searching for a place to get some privacy from time to time. And when they got privacy it wasn't like before. Because for some reason their alone time now always lead to more physical activities.

Like today. Hermione and Victor had met in one of the small study rooms in the library, and Hermione had actually planned to get some homework done. But right before she was able to pull her materials out of her bag, Viktor was beside her and stroked her hair softly.

Curiously Hermione looked up to him. His eyes were dark and he looked as grumpy as ever, but there was an odd atmosphere around him. He seemed tense. But then, without the usual warning, he bent down, pulled her flush to his body and kissed her. It was a firm kiss, full of passion and something else… desperation?

Hermione wanted to ask what was wrong with him but then he sucked on her lower lip and with a gasp she opened her mouth for him. Slowly Viktor swiped his tongue over her lips and begged for entrance. And without thinking twice Hermione allowed it.

They had never French kissed before. It was different from what Hermione had imagined before. It was fun and woke a new feeling in her. It felt like something inside her tensed - coiled - but in a good way. A moan escaped her and she buried one hand in Viktor's hair while the other grabbed his shoulder.

That seemed to stir something in Viktor who picked her up suddenly and sat her down on the table. Instantly he kissed her again, but at the same time, he stepped between her legs, nudging them apart slightly. Deep down Hermione knew something right now was happening too fast but she was too occupied with all these new feelings.

Viktor's fingers travelled her sides, her skin prickled, and without knowing why Hermione wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer to her. Now it was Viktor's turn to moan. A deep, husky moan that gave Hermione goosebumps. Slowly they pressed harder and harder against each other, pulling and caressing and feeling, and Hermione lost all sense for how much time went by. And then suddenly something new pressed against her. She gasped at the sensation when she realised that Viktor had a hard one and then she realised where exactly it was pressed against.

_God, mum was right_ , was all Hermione could think as she felt how aroused she got. Something primal inside her wanted to take things further. To experience what this feeling between her own legs promised. She wanted that tight coil to spring. Her legs tightened around Viktor's waist and automatically his hips snapped forward, pressing into Hermione in a delicious way.

And then the creaking noise of an opening door shook them out of it. Quickly Viktor stepped away from Hermione - his stiff one quite visible through the pants - and Hermione closed her legs, trying to look innocent. That her sitting on the table was suspicious itself, didn't even occur her since she was still high on hormones and emotions.

"The library is closing," Madame Pince told them with a glare. With wide eyes, Hermione stared at Viktor, who seemed equally surprised. Slowly, while trying to get her logical thinking back, Hermione grabbed her back and tried not to look at Viktor.

"Have you thought about visiting me during the summer?" Viktor suddenly asked his voice a whisper.

"Oh, I forgot about asking my parents," Hermione lied. In truth, she had forgotten entirely about his offer. "You know, because of this stupid article I was a bit… distracted."

"Yeah," Viktor nodded and silently he brought her to the staircases in the Great Hall. There they had to split up so that Viktor wouldn't see where the Gryffindor dorm was. He gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead and then vanished, his face grim and tense again. Hermione decided that she really needed to ask him what was going on.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"I can't believe he still hasn't given it to us," someone grumbled and woke Hermione. She had fallen asleep on the sofa in the common room while reading. The fire was almost burned down and from her position, Hermione couldn't be seen from the entrance.

"We will get it, don't worry. Maybe we should write another letter," a familiar voice suggested and now Hermione was wide awake. She turned her head carefully and saw the twins climbing through the entrance.

"Well, at least we have the resources to proceed with developing new products," George sounded slightly happier. "What do you think? Want to work on the fancies tomorrow?"

"Can't, I'm going to meet Angelina tomorrow. I'm gonna ask her if she wants to date me," Fred said and actually sounded nervous.

"I thought you were already dating?" Hermione heard how the footsteps and voice came closer.

"Yes, but... but I want to make it official. I will ask her if she wants to be my girlfriend. You know, fooling around with her doesn't feel right since she's my soulmate." Now it could be heard how the twins started to climb the stairs to their dorm rooms.

"Yeah, mum will have your head otherwise. Does Angie already know about your soulbond?"

"No, I don't know how to tell her. Maybe it's best if she discovers it by herself. Let it proceed naturally." That was the last thing Hermione heard before the voices got too quiet. She turned her face towards the blaze and enjoyed the warmth on her skin. Fred and Angelina were soulmates. The last heart of her already damaged heart broke at that but this time no tears came. She was too distraught to cry over the fact that she really would never get a chance. Now she didn't even have the illusion any more.


	17. Freedom

Hermione Granger had made a decision. From today on she didn't care anymore about Fred Weasley. The guy was taken and had a soulmate. And from now on she would heal her broken heart and forget him. He was just her best friend's older brother. And she would get over it.

So, Hermione buried herself in things that made her happy. She studied - because honestly, that was something that made her happy -, she researched for S.P.E.W. and she helped Harry with getting ready for the next task. She met with Ginny and had girls' nights. She tried to spend more time with Lavender and Parvati, even if it was exhausting from time to time.

And Hermione stopped avoiding Fred. It simply wasn't healthy or normal to avoid him any longer just because she had feelings for him. She needed to treat him as she had before this whole mess started. And that's what she did. Hermione started to spend time with Harry, Ron and the twins again in the common room, playing exploding snap and laughing about silly pranks.

And of course, Hermione was still on her little side project of finding out how the hell Rita Skeeter got her information. The woman had either a source inside the castle or she had found a way inside the castle herself despite Dumbledore banning her from the grounds. But no matter how many theories Hermione had, not one seemed to fit.

Her first theory had been that Skeeter used an invisibility cloak. So, Hermione checked with Professor Moody who was able to see through such cloaks with his magical eye. But unfortunately, he was absolutely sure that Skeeter hadn't been at the lake during the second task. Now this theory was off the table. Huffing Hermione left the room to tell Harry and Ron about it.

"Blimey, Hermione, can't you let it go? We have enough problems without starting a fight with Rita Skeeter," Ron complained while Harry just stayed silent. It hadn't escaped Hermione's notice that Harry had a new strategy with dealing with Ron's and her fights, and that was keeping silent and not choosing sites. On one hand, Hermione was glad about it because it meant that he wouldn't choose Ron automatically, but on the other site, she was a bit disappointed that Harry never took her site. Even when Hermione was right.

"Well, no one asked you to get involved, Ron," Hermione glared at him and then headed to the library.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

After Hermione had made the decision to let go of Fred she noticed a change in herself. She felt free. It was like a heavy weight was lifted off her chest and now she was able to breathe again. The knowledge that Fred Weasley was completely out of reach for her - that she would never have a chance - freed her. It wasn't logical, because Hermione knew that normally she should be distraught and sad, broken-hearted, but in a way, it helped her because now all hope was surely gone. And without hope, it didn't hurt that much when she saw Fred and Angelina walking through the halls together.

A few weeks after Hermione had overheard the conversation in the common room the whole school knew that Fred Weasley and Angelina Johnson were dating. The two were in no way indiscreet. They never kissed in public, but from time to time they held hands or Fred wrapped an arm around Angelina's waist or shoulder. Little touches to show his affection. As always the gossip was spreading. Half of the girls of Hogwarts were jealous as hell and wished for a quick break-up, while the other half thought that the couple was the sweetest thing ever.

Hermione tried to ignore the rumours and the whispering, instead, she focused on her own _relationship_. Now that she was doing everything to really forget Fred, she had time and energy to concentrate on Viktor. To really only focus on him and her feelings for him.

And that was why Hermione finally realised that Viktor was indeed behaving differently than before. On first glance, nothing had changed. They spent the weeks after their last heated snogging session as usual in the library - now that Fred and Angelina were the centres of the gossip, no one was paying Hermione and Viktor any attention -, studying in a nice, quiet place. Sometimes they went to the courtyard or the lake, now that the weather was slowly getting warmer. They talked about everything from Durmstrang and house elves to their families and lives in general. Viktor was actually interested in Hermione's parents, as he had never met any muggles before. And they were still kissing occasionally but not like last time. Not in such a heated way.

Hermione was secretly glad that their physical relationship wasn't proceeding further because deep inside she knew she wasn't ready for more than kisses. Even if the memories still made her tingly.

While everything seemed fine on the surface, Hermione noticed more and more that Viktor seemed tense around her. For some reason, since the second task, he seemed to hold back in several ways. Hermione had the impression that he was a bit too careful with his words, always thought twice before he said something, and sometimes he even seemed to hold back from saying something.

She had tried to ask him about it several times, but he always claimed to be just nervous because of the third task and tired, because Karkaroff was training him too hard. Hermione was sure Viktor was lying but no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't understand what was wrong with him.

 _Hermione, he's three years older than you and maybe has other... desires and expectations than you._ Hermione remembered Fred's word one evening while she laid in bed, thinking about how Viktor had broken away from their kiss this afternoon with a distressed look in his eyes. A tingle went from her toes to her stomach as she thought about what desires Viktor could have. Certainly, things she wasn't ready for…

With the decision made that she had to talk with Viktor, Hermione fell asleep.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione bit her lip for the thousand times. Opposite of her Viktor sat on the library table, an open book in front of him, but Hermione could see that he wasn't actually reading. He just thumbed through it, pretending to be immersed. But his brows were knitted tightly together like he was worried about something.

"Viktor, is everything alright?" Hermione whispered, but Madame Pince shot her glare regardless. Viktor just nodded, his eyes never leaving the book. Huffing Hermione got up, pulling Viktor up by his arm and to a secluded corner of the library, where Madame Pince wouldn't hear them.

"Look, if you don't want to talk about it, it's okay. I won't force you. But if you need someone to talk about whatever is making you so tense and… miserable than talk to me. I'm here for you." Hermione tried a reassuring smile but inside she was shaking from nervousness. They weren't a couple and Hermione was afraid that she overstepped an invisible boundary.

"Thank you," Viktor sighed and pulled her to him. Gingerly he laid his forehead on her shoulder, his hands lightly on her waist. Instantly Hermione wrapped her arms around his back.

"I'm nervous about third task. Karkaroff vants me to vin. And he vants me to stay avay from you." Viktor sighed into her hair. "He believes your spying for Potter."

"I would never do that. First Ron, now Karkaroff. Maybe they could get together and discuss who is spying on whom before they make these stupid accusations." Hermione began to draw soothing circles over Viktor's tense shoulders.

"Is that really everything? It's not something I did?" Hermione asked timidly. That was her real fear. That she had said or done something that weighed Viktor down. But he only shook his head and then - for a moment only - he buried his nose her neck and placed a chaste kiss on the small spot behind her ear.

"No, you couldn't," and with a sigh, Viktor straightened up again. He leaned his back against one of the bookshelves, pulling Hermione with him so that she was flush against him. He pressed a kiss against her forehead and then - a mere whisper - he said something that shocked Hermione deeply.

"I love you."

With wide eyes, Hermione stared up to him. Viktor's eyes were dark and a timid smile laid on his lips. Her mind swirled. Hermione hadn't expected him to say something like this. Hell, she hadn't even expected that he could feel for her like this. He loved her. Viktor _loved_ her. _Viktor Krum loved Hermione Granger_. And she was still trying to figure out if they had a relationship or not. If they were just snogging in dark corners or not. Seemed like Viktor already had made up his mind.

Hermione knew she had to say something. Anything. She needed to say or do something. Instead, she just stood there and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Viktor…" But before Hermione could attempt to proceed with her poor response, he silenced her with a kiss. His lips were warm and soft as ever but there it was again. Desperation. Longing. But it remained chaste. Just tender kisses and caressing hands. Hermione had her hands around Viktor's neck, playing with his hair, while he had her in a tight embrace.

"Well, I hate to interrupt," a voice behind them suddenly declared and with a small jump Hermione backed away from Viktor. The shock and surprise visible in both their faces. "But I really need a book right there."

And with that Fred Weasley rounded the corner, leaning against the shelf with one shoulder. His arms were folded and an unreadable expression on his face. Hermione flushed. She just knew that right now her face had to be the colour of a ripe tomato.

"Vell, then get your book," Viktor answered polite, while he stepped beside Hermione. With two large steps, Fred was at the shelf and pulled an old book from it. He took a look inside and then decided to keep it.

"As you're already here, Granger, can you help me with an essay?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. Fred never asked her for help with school work.

"Yeah sure, later in the common room?"

"Right now would be better," Fred stated with an apologetic smile on his face. "Unless you have something planned?" He looked pointy at Viktor.

"I have to go back to the ship anyvay," Viktor pressed Hermione's hand gently. "I see you tomorrov." Silently Hermione and Fred both watched how Viktor made his way back to the tables. With a still hot face, Hermione turned to Fred.

"You're two years ahead of me, Fred. How could I possibly help you?" She asked in a suspicious voice.

"Oh please, you have probably studied ahead everything till the seventh year. Should be piece of cake for you, Granger." The innocent smile was still on Fred's face and Hermione narrowed her eyes again. She knew the Weasley twins long enough to know that one should never believe them when they smiled like that.

"Okay, let me rephrase that. You don't care enough for your schoolwork to actually ask me for help. So what do you want, _Weasley_?" At this, Fred stopped smiling and furrowed his brows. He threw a glance around the corner to see if someone was around and then turned to her with a dead-serious face.

"Is he pressuring you?"

"I thought I made it clear that this is not your business?" Hermione knew her voice was colder than necessary.

"Maybe it's not my business but better safe than sorry. If he's asking you for anything that you don't want to do then you should tell someone. You can tell me." Fred took a step forward, teetering on his feet a bit.

"Yeah, I know but that's not necessary. Viktor isn't pressuring me." Hermione folded her arms protectively in front of her. She had no desire to discuss this with Fred, again.

"So, it was your idea to snog in some dark corner in the library? With his hands all over you?" Hermione blushed again and Fred just glared. "Yeah, thought so."

"It's still not your business. I don't understand why you see the need to play the big protector. It. Is. Not. Your. Business." Hermione stressed every word, glaring at him.

"He. Is. Three. Years. Older. Than. You." Fred snapped back. "That's the same age gap like between me and Ginny. Frankly, I think it's weird that someone like him is interested in a younger girl like you. Even if you are more mature than other girls. I mean, Hermione, he's Viktor Krum and you're-." Hermione felt like she had just been slapped.

"I'm what? A swotty bookworm without any appeal?" She snapped. Fred's eyes widened. Hermione knew it was an unfair accusation but right know she wanted Fred to shut the hell up.

"Ron already went out of his way to tell me that at the Yule Ball. Why don't you get together with Ron and you two can discuss how stupid I am for believing someone like Viktor Krum could genuinely like me? And in the meantime, you can stop worrying about me. I'm not Ginny. I'm not your little sister. So stop treating me that way." Without sparing another glance at Fred Hermione stormed off. With a flick of her wand, she summoned her bag and books. She could hear him call after her but Hermione - for once - was faster than Fred.

She didn't go back to the Gryffindor Tower. Instead, she went up to the Astronomy Tower, where no one was during this time of the day. There Hermione searched for the small alcove where one could still see the sky but was hidden from others' view.

Fred, the idiot! Now that she finally had gotten better with dealing with him, he had to play the worrying pseudo big brother and confuse her again.

She needed time to cool down. Time to think. She didn't want to think about Fred. Not at all. He was just his usual self. He had always been nice to her, always asking her if she was fine. And it was no surprise that he thought of her as he did of Ginny. Hermione had already known that. She was like a sister to Fred and therefore he couldn't understand what other boys could see in her. Of course, he couldn't. Even if Viktor had actual, genuine feelings for Hermione.

_I love you._

Hermione's cheeks grew hot again as she thought back. Merlin, what should she do now? She had no idea what she felt for Viktor. With a sigh, she held her hot face into the chill evening air.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

When the Easter Holidays were finally there Hermione had spent one week not speaking with Fred. She knew he did mean well and she knew he wanted to apologise, but she wasn't ready for that. She needed space.

As the holidays approached Hermione also saw less and less from Viktor. Karkaroff trained him too hard at every free minute and as soon as there were no lessons the headmaster had Viktor training all day. Hermione couldn't help but be relieved. Relieved, because she had no idea what to tell Viktor. She knew sometime soon she had to give him an answer. An answer to his invitation to Bulgaria. An answer to his _I love you_. But she had no idea what to say. She was no step closer to finding out what she felt for Viktor. She was torn between feeling charmed by his confession and freaking out because he had such sincere feelings for her.

On Easter morning the packages arrived via owl. Her parents had sent Hermione some of her favourite sweets - all sugar-free of course - and Mrs Weasley had also sent a large package with chocolate Easter eggs for everyone. Hermione had been looking forward to the self-made chocolate since her parents seldom allowed her some, but as she opened hers, she realised that this was just not her year. Her egg was visibly smaller than the others'. After she got the confirmation from Ron that his mother had surely read Rita Skeeters terrible article, Hermione was more determined than ever to catch the witch.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione was on her way down to breakfast when suddenly Angelina Johnson appeared beside her.

"Morning, mind if I join you?" The older girl asked with a bright smile and together they climbed down the stairs to the Great Hall. They made small talk about the upcoming Third Task and discussed what it could probably be. Harry, Viktor and the other Champions had been called down to the Quidditch Pitch the night before to be instructed about the task. But Hermione hadn't seen Harry till now and so she was as clueless as Angelina.

"So, I know it's not my business and Fred did put his foot in his mouth," Angelina started, a nervous smile dancing on her lips, "but he's miserable. He didn't mean it like that."

"I know," Hermione sighed. "But I have enough of Weasley boys telling me what to do."

"Yeah, I get that. Leave him sweating a bit if you like, but don't be too cruel. He really is worried about you, even if you don't want that. To Fred and George, you are family." Angelina nodded in the direction of the twins, who sat with Lee on the Gryffindor table and stared at Hermione with wide eyes.

"Did they ask you to do that?" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Nah, I was just tired of Fred's constant whining. Kind of kills the mood," Angelina winked. Instantly not so nice comments about where Angelina could put her mood flitted through Hermione's mind but she forced the jealousy down. Angelina was Fred's girlfriend. Hermione had neither reason nor right to be jealous.

"Joke aside. I just wanted to talk to you because I know Fred is sorry and he feels awful. Just give him a chance to apologise." Angelina added, now serious again.

"I will think about it," Hermione answered and as she saw that Harry and Ron were coming to the hall, she excused herself to sit with them. She was curious to hear what Harry now knew about the Third Task. And it was a good opportunity to get away from Angelina.

As soon as Hermione sat down Harry started to tell them everything about the task, the maze and about the sudden appearance of Mr Crouch near the forbidden forest. Hermione should have known that only Harry could get into trouble while taking a walk. After they had finished breakfast they decided it was best to write a letter to Sirius.

Hermione tried to keep a cool head while she listened to Ron musing if it was possible that Viktor had attacked himself to play the victim. Hermione was quite proud that she snapped only once at Ron for his stupidity and that shut him up quite well. In reality, Hermione was really concerned about Viktor and already tried to think of an excuse to leave Harry and Ron later so she could visit him.

They had just sent one of the school owls away with the letter to Sirius when they heard voices from the stairs.

"I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, its blackmail!" The owlery door banged open and Fred and George came in, frozen at the sight of them.

"What are you doing here?" Ron and Fred said at the same time.

"Sending a letter," said Harry and George in unison.

"What, at this time?" said Hermione and Fred, then Fred grinned.

"Fine, we won't ask you what you're doing, if you don't ask us. Don't let us hold you up," he said, making a mock bow, and pointed at the door.

"Who're you blackmailing?" Ron asked, not moving an inch. Hermione rolled her eyes. As if the twins would tell them. She endured another banter between Ron and his brothers about Ron becoming an annoying prefect like Percy before Fred and George send their owl off and vanished. Hermione thought she saw a guilty impression on Fred's face for a second, but it was over too soon.

"You don't think they know something about all this, do you? About Crouch and everything." Hermione asked a tad afraid of the answer.

"Don't know, but I'm worried. This joke shop, they really mean it. And they need gold to do it, that's all they're talking about since month." Ron stared after the owl as he talked. It was seldom to see him this serious and concerned about his brothers.

"But they wouldn't do something illegal, something against the law, right?" Hermione asked, her heart beating nervously.

"Dunno, they don't exactly mind breaking rules, right?" Silently they made their way back to the common room. But shortly before they entered Hermione pretended that she still needed a book from the library. Now she had an hour or two before anyone would search for her.

"Hermione!" Harry called after her, Ron was nowhere in sight. "There's something I have to tell you. Yesterday, when Krum wanted to walk with me," Harry blushed a bit, "he wanted to talk with me about you. He asked me if there something between us. It seems like Skeeters article unsettled him a bit. I don't know what's going on between you, but I thought you should know. Of course, I told him we're just friends."

"Thanks, Harry." With a beating heart, Hermione hurried down to the Black Lake, where the Durmstrang ship was anchored. There was Viktor, duelling two of his classmates at the same time. Hermione stayed away from them, but close enough so that he could see. It only took five minutes for Viktor to recognize her and to stop the duel.

"Hermionny, vhat are you doing here?" Viktor strolled towards her. His clothes were wet from sweat and his hair was damp.

"Harry told me that you have been attacked. I wanted to see if you're alright." They didn't kiss or hug in public, but Viktor took her hand and pulled her to a near tree.

"I am, it vasn't that bad." Viktor looked down on the ground, his face as dark and unfriendly as ever.

"Harry also told me that you asked him about me. If there was anything between Harry and me." At this, Viktor looked extremely uncomfortable but still stared at the ground.

"Is that why you were so tense in the last weeks? Why didn't you ask me?" Hermione felt a bit sick. Just as she asked she already realised what the answer was. Viktor was jealous of Harry.

"Potter and you seem close. I thought I could ask him from man to man, vithout him telling you." He still didn't look at her and Hermione felt anger rising in her.

"Well, I would have preferred it if you had talked with me about it. Harry and I are just friends. But I'm constantly worried about him. He has a knack for getting into trouble and dangerous situations and he needs my help. And I will always protect Harry."

"I don't want to get betveen you and your friend. I vas just afraid of losing you." Now Viktor finally looked up, a hurt expression in his eyes. "I'm in love with you, Hermionny, I vas afraid and jealous. And I didn't vant you to know that. I had the feeling that there vas someone else, and I thought it vas Potter. It vas stupid."

At this something in Hermione clicked, it was like a revelation. Viktor loved her. He felt so much more and more intense for her than she did for him. Hermione liked Viktor, very much. Maybe she even had a little crush. She liked spending time with him. She liked kissing him. He made her feel good like she was beautiful and desirable. But she didn't love him. She couldn't. Because she loved Fred. And Viktor had felt it, subconsciously he had felt that her heart wasn't in it.

God, she had been so stupid. She should have never started something with Viktor while being hung up on another man. She was such an idiot.

"Viktor, I'm so sorry," a tear rolled down Hermione's cheek. "I think I've hurt you without wanting to. I can't reciprocate your feelings. I like you so much but I'm not in love with you. And it's just not fair to keep you waiting for something that might never happen. I don't want to hurt you any further." The last word was almost swallowed by a hiccup as Hermione tried to fight her tears back. Damn it, she had no right to cry. She was the one who hurt him, the one who was ending it right now. But she couldn't help it.

"It' okay, Hermionny, deep inside I knew you veren't ready for a serious relationship. You're too young. But I hoped." And without looking around for bystanders Viktor leaned down and gave Hermione one final kiss, a goodbye. And just like that Hermione experienced her first break-up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, next chapter the Third Task and the end of the fourth year. I hope I will get it out in the next days.
> 
> Please review, as always I'm anxious to see what you think about the developments.


	18. Everything Changes

Loud music blared through the full common room as Hermione made her way to her dorm room. For a second she was confused why there was a party without any reason but then she saw Fred and George standing on a table, throwing chocolate frogs and canary creams everywhere.

Today was the twins' birthday! And Hermione had completely forgotten.

The last two days she had been a bit beside herself. The break-up from Viktor hadn't exactly broken her heart, she was mostly fine. But still, it was odd to know that they wouldn't study together anymore, that he wouldn't come to sit with her or take a walk with her. Hermione wasn't sure if it was okay to greet him in the halls or during meals and if she should wish him good luck for the last task. She simply was unsure of how to behave around Viktor. And she also was a bit lonely. In the last four months, Viktor Krum had been a constant companion and friend to her. Someone she liked spending time with. Someone she liked talking to. Someone who had been nothing but genuinely nice to her and interested in her. And this wonderful friendship she had lost. Losing Viktor the friend was certainly harder and more hurtful than losing Viktor the boyfriend and lover.

Hermione had continued to go to the library to their usual times but as expected Viktor hadn't come by. In general, she hadn't seen much of him in the last days. He was still training like hell for the task. Which reminded Hermione that they also needed to train Harry. So she had focused her research on easy to learn spells that would help her best friend during his last task.

And that's how she had completely forgotten about the twins' birthday. Because her mind had been occupied with worrying about Viktor and Harry. But now the flashy decoration and music, the food and the partying students reminded her. Of course, Fred and George would throw a gigantic party for the whole house for their coming of age. And of course, the whole house wanted to celebrate with them since the two were awfully popular.

"Hermione!" Ginny and Parvati stormed towards Hermione, both a fat grin on their faces and a bottle of butterbeer for her.

"Guess what?" Parvati practically bounced up and down.

"Just tell me," Hermione rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the mood for stupid guessing games when she had no chance to ever get it right. It was surely about some new gossip.

"Seamus asked Lavender if he could talk to her in private. That was an hour ago." Parvati grinned and Hermione took a sip from her butterbeer. But she also smiled. Lavender had had a crush on Seamus since the Yule Ball. Parvati, and to some extent also Hermione, had to listen to Lavender's swooning for months and had both gotten quite sick of it. Maybe now there was hope that Lavender would finally shut up about Seamus if they dated.

"You know," Hermione grimaced as she realised something, "that now she will never shut up again, right? If they become a couple, or even if he just kisses her tonight, she will torture us by discussing every detail for months."

"Yeah, but at least she will talk about something new." Ginny grinned. The redhead had quite the talent for driving Lavender crazy and enjoyed it very much. Hermione only sighed at the prospect of a new topic for Lavender to be obsessed about but mostly she was happy for her roommate.

But no one was as happy for Lavender as Parvati. The girl hopped up and down excitedly, hoping for Lavender to show up any minute so that they could discuss what had happened. It was probably one of the perks of being a soulmate, Hermione mused. Lavender and Parvati always knew that they could count on each other. They shared everything with each other.

The three girls proceeded to search for a quieter place beside the fireplace, where they could talk in hush voices about Lavender and the latest school gossip. Normally Hermione wasn't one for gossip but since Parvati was the gossip queen and Ginny was popular enough to know almost everything, she enjoyed it from time to time. It was more like Ginny and Parvati told her everything she had missed and Hermione decided which information she deemed interesting.

Right now both girls were discussing if Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory were dating or if they had just been to the ball together. Parvati was insisting that going to the ball didn't mean that they were dating while Ginny was convinced they were. But Hermione suspected that Ginny only wanted them to date so that Harry had to give up on Cho. Even though Ginny already had had two dates with Michael Corner, the redhead still was a bit hung up on Harry. And Hermione was probably the one who understood this best.

"Oh, there is Lavender," Parvati squealed and jumped up, hurrying towards the entrance. Lavender and Seamus both stepped in with bright red faces. Lavender's eyes lit up as she saw her best friend and with a giggle, the two vanished up to the dorm rooms. Ginny and Hermione just grinned at each other. They weren't mad that Lavender decided to tell Parvati first and alone, that was normal. They would hear everything about it soon anyway.

"So, how is it with Michael?" Hermione asked as she witnessed how Ginny looked at Harry with longing eyes. Sometimes Hermione asked herself if she looked the same when she caught herself staring at Fred. But no one had asked her about it till now or commented on it, so she hoped for the best.

"It's good," Ginny smiled timidly. "He asked me out for the last Hogsmeade weekend. I think he might ask me if I want to be his girlfriend after that."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful," Hermione grinned. "Or doesn't it?" She added as she saw how Ginny's brows furrowed.

"No, it's just," Ginny started to play with her hands. "It's just that I'm not really sure if it would be the right thing to do. I mean, I like Michael, but I'm not sure if I like him enough to date him. Urg, that's just so complicated."

"I know exactly what you mean." With a quick glance around the room, Hermione made sure that no one was listening to them. Till now she hadn't had the chance to tell Ginny what had happened with Viktor. Truth to be told, she always needed some time to think about this kind of things on her own before she could tell someone about it. While Ginny was the complete opposite and talked about everything right away, Hermione only told things when she had already made her decision. But still, their friendship worked.

"Viktor and I broke up," Ginny raised her one eyebrow mockingly.

"I thought you weren't dating," she teased.

"We weren't, at least not officially. Not with that label, but you know… And now we're no longer, you know…"

"You're no longer snogging in dark corners in the library?" Ginny laughed, as she pretended to be her older brother. After Hermione had told Ginny about Fred's behaviour in the library last week Ginny loved taking the mickey out of him for it.

"Exactly," Hermione huffed.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Ginny turned serious again. "What happened? I mean, for months you told me you weren't dating and now you broke up?"

"He was jealous of Harry. He was worried that there was actually some truth in those horrible articles of Rita Skeeter and that I would decide for Harry since we're so close. He even asked Harry about it."

"And you were so angry about this that you broke up?"

"Well, no… he told me that he loves me. That's why." For a moment there was absolute silence as Ginny's jaw dropped and she stared at Hermione completely aghast.

"Excuse me, you have to explain that, I fear." And so Hermione started to explain how she had realised that she was hurting Viktor without knowing it and that she wasn't ready for such a serious relationship. Of course, Hermione said no word of being in love with Fred, because Ginny still didn't know about that. But the information was enough to turn Ginny into a solemn mood.

"You know what, I think you did the right thing. Dating someone without being serious about it... that's not fair. Do you think I should stop dating Michael? I mean... you know, because of... " Ginny waved in general direction of Harry.

"No, not necessarily. But maybe you should think about what you want before you say yes or no to him." Hermione smiled at Ginny but right as the younger girl started to say something a loud bang sounded from behind.

"GINNY! HERMIONE!" George rushed towards them, fireworks exploding behind him. He seemed a bit sloshed and Hermione thought she smelled firewhiskey. He forced himself between Hermione and Ginny on the couch and dropped one arm around each of their shoulders.

"My favourite Gryffindor girls." He laughed loudly but Hermione and Ginny only starred questioningly at him. Okay, he was definitely drunk.

"Merlin, George, you smelling like Aunt Muriel when she had a few too many birthday drinks. You better hope that McGonagall didn't hear that fireworks." Ginny forced her brother's arm away. "Please tell me that Fred isn't equally drunk. I don't think Hogwarts can handle two drunk Weasley twins."

"Nah, Angie forbid him to get drunk, that sissy. Totally wiped already." George downed another drink, Hermione had no idea where he got it from. Curiously she looked for Fred in the hope he would reign his sloshed twin in.

"You won't find him," George huffed as he saw Hermione's searching gaze. "He's off snogging Angelina somewhere. She said she had a special birthday present for him. Abandoned by my own twin on my birthday, can you believe that?"

"Well, I hoped Fred could do the dirty work but it seems like we have to. Come on, George, up with you. You should go to bed." Hermione stood up, trying to pull George up by his arm. But he was simply too tall and heavy. Plus, he was absolutely unwilling to cooperate.

"Want to get dirty, Granger? Want to get me into bed?" The twin grinned but his eyes were already glazed over by the alcohol. Ginny huffed a laugh beside them and also stood up. Together the girls were finally successful with forcing George to stand up and follow them to the stairs to the boys' dormitories. Now Hermione realised that it was already kind of late. Most students had gone to bed and only a few, like Ron and Harry, were still immersed with talking about Quidditch.

With a little bit of patience, Hermione and Ginny managed to get George up the stairs and into his dorm room. The twins shared a room with Lee Jordan and one other boy, who was mostly friends with some Hufflepuffs and kept far away from the three troublemakers. One of the beds had its curtains drawn and Hermione guessed that the fourth dormmate was sleeping there. In one other bed, Lee was snoring, still fully clothed, with open curtains.

Their room looked like any other dorm room but had quite a few tell-tale burn marks on the walls. Clothes, books, and potion ingredients were cluttering the floor. Carefully Hermione and Ginny guided the swaying George to the bed, which had a big, bright orange G engraved, and forced him to lay down.

"You know, destiny is a bitch," George muttered as they tucked him in. "I've been in love with her first..."

"Who are you talking about?" Ginny asked. A cold shiver ran alone Hermione's spine. Somehow she knew the answer even before George sighed a heartbreaking _Angie_.

"Gave him my blessings, of course, wouldn't be fair to keep them apart," George slurred while Ginny looked as pale as Moaning Myrtle.

"Wouldn't ask her because of me, the git." And with that, the younger twin finally drifted off. Ginny looked at Hermione, a bewildered expression on her face. Hermione knew what was going on but before she could say something the door opened and Fred stumbled in.

"Georgie," he yelled. Then he stopped in surprise when he saw Ginny and Hermione.

"What are you two doing here?" Fred asked, also a bit slurring. Hermione recognised his crumpled clothes and a bright red hickey on his neck. Quickly she looked away.

"What are we doing? What the hell are you doing?" Ginny's face went from pale to an angry red. Hermione knew this colour from Ron all too good. You had to stop this kind of rage before it got out of hand.

"Yeah, what are you doing? Getting your brother drunk and then leaving him? We almost had to carry him up here. You could at least try to be responsible now that you're off age." Hermione used her best prim-and-proper-bookworm-voice while she pulled Ginny towards the door.

"That's not what I meant-" The girl struggled but Hermione already pushed Ginny out of the door.

"Do George a favour and give him a glass of water when he wakes up." And with a last angry huff to play her game Hermione closed the door behind her. With a bit of force, she pulled Ginny to the common room and saw with relief that it was empty.

"Hermione! What the hell was that? I was going to give Fred a piece of mind. How dare he hurt George like that?"

"Angelina is Fred's soulmate," Hermione blurted out. "I heard the twins talk about it a few weeks ago. That's why George said destiny is a bitch and that he doesn't want to keep them apart." With a low _umpfh,_ Ginny sank into the couch in front of the dying fire.

"Mum and Dad always taught us to cherish our soulmate, to treat them as the most precious person in the world. They said the connection between soulmates is special and no one should come between them. Poor George," Ginny sighed. "In love with his twin's soulmate. Destiny surely is a bitch."

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Harry's training for the third task was in full swing during the following weeks. Hermione and Ron were attacking Harry with every possible hex and curse. And he trained his hexes and curses at them to perfect them. They trained during every possible minute at every possible place. In between classes. Before and after meals. In empty classrooms and late at night in the common room. And to Hermione's relief, Harry got better really quickly and she had a good feeling about the third task. Harry could do this.

And then Harry blacked out during Divination and had a vision about you-know-who. Normally that alone would have made Hermione worry to no end. But the cherry on top was the article of Rita Skeeter afterwards, painting Harry as a crazy, attention-seeking boy. Hermione was boiling with anger and her determination to catch the awful woman was renewed.

It clicked when Hermione saw how Draco Malfoy spoke into his hands on the morning of the third task. If electronic devices would have worked at Hogwarts, Hermione would have bet everything that it was a walkie-talkie or something like that. But it couldn't be. It had to be something magical. Something small. Something that could transport information. No, maybe a way for Skeeter to get smaller. To get on the grounds without being seen.

With an excuse to Harry and Ron Hermione dashed off to the library. She needed to check this.

Hermione met with her friends much later for lunch at the Great Hall. Beside Harry, Ron, Ginny and the twins Mrs Weasley and Bill were also sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"Where have you been?" Ron asked with a full mouth, while his mother glared at his bad manners.

"Library, there was something I wanted to look up," Hermione shrugged casually. She was sure she had found the answer but for her plan to work she needed everyone else as clueless as ever.

For a while, the lunch was nice and cosy but more and more Hermione got the feeling that Mrs Weasley was treating her differently than during the last summer. She even thought that the woman glared at her whenever Hermione talked with Harry. This went on till Harry interjected and told Mrs Weasley that there was nothing between them. Hermione could tell that Ginny, Fred and George almost laughed but thankfully afterwards Mrs Weasley was as warm and loving as ever towards her.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hours later Hermione was in the stands with the Weasleys, watching how Harry got ready. How Cedric Diggory stared at the maze with wide eyes. How Fleur shifted her ponytail nervously every few minutes. How Viktor talked with Karkaroff, nodding about something and looking as grim as ever. Hermione hadn't wished him luck. She hadn't had the courage to approach him. And now she regretted it.

"Are you okay?" Fred whispered.

"Yeah, just a bit nervous. I hope everything goes well for Harry," Hermione answered, her eyes firmly on the champions. She was a nervous ball of energy herself. She felt like she was the one who would compete any minute, not Harry. And then the signal echoed through the air and the third task started.

The atmosphere outside the maze was simply festive. Music was being played, food was sold, and everywhere was excited whispering and talking about who was most likely to win. It seemed like the betting odds were fairly even but this time Fred and George weren't in on it. Probably because their mother was around. All in all, it was like a festival. But they saw little to nothing from the happenings inside the maze.

The first exciting thing happened when a red signal showed on the dark evening sky. A few minutes later Fleur Delacour was brought from the maze, unconscious and with ripped clothes. A whisper of horror went through the audience. It didn't take long and Viktor was accompanied outside as well. He was conscious but had a wild look on his face.

With a clenching stomach, Hermione averted her eyes. It was hard seeing Viktor like that and she didn't want to imagine what happened to Harry right now. To her right, she heard Ron scoffing about how Viktor wasn't that good after all, but she had no energy to fight with him.

Suddenly she felt someone approaching her from the other side. When she looked up Hermione saw Fred, who offered her some Bertie Bott's Bean with a sheepish smile.

"Hermione, I know I already said it a thousand times, but I really am sorry. I didn't want to insult you back then and I know I overstepped some boundaries. I was just worried." Then he leaned down an with a conspiratorial tone Fred whispered, "so, if you want to go down and see if he's alright; I will even help with sidetracking Ron and Mum." Hermione felt herself blushing. He was too damn close.

"No, I don't think that's a good idea. We're no longer... seeing each other. And I don't think he wants to see me right now."

"What happened?"

"Well, in the end, you were right. He wanted different things than I wanted." At this Fred's eyebrows shot first up and then furrowed as he comprehended her words. Too late Hermione realised the double-meaning behind her words.

"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. Viktor wanted a serious relationship and I'm not ready for that." Hermione blushed again. She had had no intent of ever telling Fred Weasley anything about her relationship with Viktor - or every possible future relationship - but somehow it always felt easy to talk with him. Fred was about to say something when suddenly he let out a loud yelp.

Buckets full of water - cold water probably - streamed over Fred's head and upper body. Hermione could only see a glimpse of George and Lee running away, laughing like maniacs, and hiding in between the people. Around them students started to laugh - Ron, Bill and Ginny the loudest of all - while Fred looked like a wet dog. His long red hair clung to his cheeks and his white shirt was almost see-through.

"Those gits!" Fred cursed. "Mum will flip if she sees me like this." A few more curse words escaped Fred and Hermione tutted at him for it, but she could also see that he wasn't really angry with his two best friends and partners in crime.

"That surely calls for a dorm prank war," Fred winked.

"Wait, I will help you," Hermione offered and drew her wand. Quickly she started to cast drying charms. Fred's hair and his pants dried quite well but his shirt looked crumpled and messy, even though it was dry now.

"Oh, that's no good. Give me this shirt for a minute. During the summer your Mum showed me a charm to iron clothes ." Without arguing Fred unbuttoned the shirt and now Hermione realised what she had asked him. Fred - the boy she had had a crush on since almost a year - was standing in front of her half-naked and offered her his shirt with a devilish smirk.

"Like what you see, Granger?"

"Git," Hermione grumbled as she took the piece of clothing and started the charm. At once it started to look better and Hermione was thankful when Fred started to clothe himself again. But she couldn't resist sneaking a last look when Fred slipped into the sleeves. He had such a nice, fit and well-toned chest. Firm muscles and scattered freckles everywhere.

Merlin, she had to stop ogling him, Hermione scolded herself. But then her eyes stopped at a small, black mark on his right hip bone. Normally not visible because of his pants and shirt, but right now Fred had pulled his pants a tad lower to stuff the shirt inside. It was just half a minute, but Hermione was absolutely sure. The mark was Fred's soul mark. And it was a rose. A blooming rose with a few leafs around. And it looked exactly like Hermione's own rose.

Fred had said that Angelina was his soulmate! He seemed dead sure about it. George even held back his own feelings to support them. But this soul mark. The words were stuck in Hermione's throat as she tried to make sense of this. But even if Hermione had had the words to say something - to demand to see the mark again - at this moment the band started to play again and cheers erupted from the audience.

Hermione and Fred's head whipped to the entrance of the maze where Harry was kneeling in front of Cedric. Cedric, who seemed unnaturally pale and stiff. Slowly the cheers turned silent and instead from somewhere a scream sounded. And then hell broke loose.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The train ride home from Hogwarts was curious this year. Hermione was sure that for once Harry was actually glad to escape the school for a while. To escape the stares and whispers and everything else. Hermione too was glad. The last weeks since the third task had been exhausting. It should have been the most wonderful weeks. They should have celebrated the end of the tournament, the end of their exams, and enjoyed the last weeks of the summer. But instead, they had mourned the death of Cedric Diggory and had witnessed the absolute stupidity of Cornelius Fudge. Things were changing. And they were changing quickly.

And now Voldemort was probably back, preparing himself for another war, while Hermione sat at a carriage with a beetle in her bag and an exhausted, traumatised best friend in front of her. She also had Viktor's home address in her bag. He had asked her to stay friends, to write from time to time. That was at least one good thing. But everything else was just messy.

Harry laughed for the first time in weeks when Fred and George entered the carriage after they all had hexed Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle at the same time, resulting in a hilarious chain reaction from the different spells. Hermione witnessed how the twins changed the mood of her best friend in just seconds with their jokes and smart remarks.

The last few weeks Hermione had determinedly ignored every thought about Fred's soul mark. In the end, it didn't matter right now. Right now Fred was dating Angelina and he believed her to be his soulmate. True or nor, Hermione didn't know how to talk with him about this. If she was wrong, then she would be forever embarrassed. If she was right, then she would break Fred's and Angelina's hearts. Everyone could see that they genuinely liked, maybe even loved, each other. Plus, it would seem like she wanted to force Fred to have feelings for her. After all, soulmates didn't necessarily need to be lovers, maybe they were just made to be friends.

So, Hermione leaned back into her seat and just enjoyed the most normal few hours they had had in the last weeks. And then she would enjoy the vacations with her parents. She would travel with them, enjoy the normality of being a muggle and having no magic around. Well, no magic besides a small beetle in her bag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is! A new chapter and new information for our Hermione. Thank you all for the reviews and I hope you leave me some sugar for this one as well :)


	19. Responsibility

Hermione opened her window as quietly as possible to let the large post owl in. As usual, the owl delivered the _Daily Prophet_ and Hermione was eager to see which nonsense they had published today. As usual, she checked first if Rita Skeeter had written any of the articles but till now the blonde woman was keeping her part of the deal.

Hermione had set Skeeter free after she had arrived at home with her parents. With the glass jar in her bag, Hermione had gone to a nearby park at night - of course without the knowledge of her parents - and opened the jar to shake out a pissed off Rita Skeeter. Then they had negotiated. Well, Hermione had set the rules and Skeeter had agreed after she had thrown a tantrum.

Hermione smirked at the memory and then started to skim through the _Prophet_. As usual, there was nothing of importance on the first page. But all the following pages were filled with disgusting news about Dumbledore and Harry. Since the beginning of the summer holidays, the _Prophet_ was speculating if Dumbledore was too old to stay headmaster of Hogwarts and on three pages they recounted which mistakes he had made in the last years. They twisted the possession of Professor Quirrell and his death as Dumbledore's fault - _too old not notice it?_ , the headline asked - and reminded the readers that the headmaster had already be suspended when the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Lupin and Hagrid were named as examples for questionable choices for teachers and Lockhart was actually described as the _last reasonable decision_ Dumbledore had made. Lockhart's memory loss was painted as a mysterious accident but between the lines, it was suggested that Dumbledore had wanted to get rid of the capable teacher to gain back his power over the school.

Hermione sighed as she flipped to the next page and saw the latest article about Harry. Since Harry was off and far away at his muggle relatives and therefore provided the _Prophet_ with no news, they just warmed up Rita Skeeter's old stories. But it was enough to remind everyone regularly that the-boy-who-lived probably was delirious and/or seeking for more and more attention and had unfortunately convinced senile headmaster into believing him.

Outside of Hermione's room, the sound of a running shower sounded. Hermione's father always showered first, while her mother made coffee and breakfast. Quickly Hermione jumped up, shoved the _Prophet_ into her trunk and then went back to bed. And surely, a minute later there was a soft knock and her door opened.

"Hermione, darling, are you awake?"

"Yes, Mum," Hermione replied

"Do you want to have breakfast with us? I thought about making waffles as a special treat." A grin spread over Hermione's face as she hastily jumped into her dressing gown to help her mother with the waffles.

They ate when Hermione's father came down and the peaceful silence. Her father was reading the newspaper while her mother thumbed through a magazine about ski resorts. Hermione had a school book on her lap while she sipped on her tea. She was careful not to read the _Daily Prophet_ near her parents. She hadn't told them about the end of the last school year, about Cedric Diggory and the return of a Dark Lord who hated people like her. Her parents would only panic and probably try to pull her out of school. So she let them live in blessed ignorance.

"Your father and I are thinking about spending Christmas in a ski resort. Maybe the French Alps? What do you think?" Her mother asked as she sipped on her coffee and showed Hermione a picture of a posh luxury hotel. This year Hermione had a deal with her parents. She was allowed to spend most of her summer holidays with the Weasleys and in turn, she would be home for Christmas the first time in three years. Since her second year, Hermione had spent every winter holiday at Hogwarts, she had realised with aching guilt.

"Sounds wonderful, Mum." Hermione smiled. She didn't care much for skiing. When she had been a child the family had often gone skiing and Hermione actually was very good at it. But she still didn't like it so much. Reading in the hotel, in front of a burning fire with hot cocoa was more her style. Hermione also didn't care much for expensive hotels, but her parents liked it.

"So, when will Arthur come to pick you up?" Hermione's father asked over the rim of his newspaper.

"Ron wrote around lunchtime," Hermione told him for the thousands time this week and he still was wary. Hermine even had had to show her father the letter. He wasn't taking it well that Hermione spent the holidays at a home inhabited mostly by boys - which he remembered quite well from last summer - and that he couldn't be there when his daughter would be picked up. But unfortunately, her parents both had to be at the dentistry today.

Hermione's father huffed again but after a stern look from her mother, he wished her a good time at the Burrow. An hour later her parents left for work and Hermione decided to read a bit in the small garden in front of the house. Her trunk was already packed and Hermione was eager to leave. With all these new developments she yearned to be in contact with other magical folks again. Surely Mr and Mrs Weasley would know more about these horrible articles in the _Prophet._

"Hermione, how nice to see you," a sugar sweet voice sounded as Hermione thumbed to the next page of her novel. Currently, she was reading _1984_ by George Orwell, a book her mother had recommended since it was on the syllabus in Muggle School this year. Her parents still tried to get Hermione in contact with British muggle culture since she had to be able to pretend in front of family and friends that she was going to a private school. But Hermione suspected that her parents also wanted her to stay in touch with her roots.

When Hermione looked up and saw who was calling her, she almost groaned. It was Patricia Summers, her old childhood frenemy. Apparently back for another summer with her father and step-mother.

"Hello Patricia, nice to see you," Hermione replied with an indifferent voice. She just hoped that Patricia would be gone before Mr Weasley arrived.

"Already reading ahead? God, don't you have a hobby or something?" Patricia crinkled her nose as she looked at Hermione's book. Hermione tried hard not to roll her eyes as Patricia didn't even wait for an answer and just started to talk about some boring school gossip and complained about her step-mother. While Hermione tried hard to think of a good way to get rid of Patricia until Mr Weasley arrived, she made small noises and pretended to listen.

"And what's new with you?" Patricia finally asked, a bored frown on her face.

"Well, I could tell you but would you really be interested? Patricia, let's be honest, we hardly see each other and when we went to school together, we didn't like each other very much. Why would I tell you something about my life? You're practically a stranger." Hermione snapped. She had opted for being impolite - honest, was maybe a better term - in order to get rid of Patricia. For a moment the other girl stared at Hermione - well-behaved, polite and goody-two-shoes Hermione - with an open mouth and said nothing. Then a call interrupted their silence.

"Hermione!" Hermione turned but before she could see who called her, a black whirlwind tackled her down. Hermione felt a cold tongue lick over her face and plush fur under her fingertips. A loud laugh was booming as someone walked to them.

"Sorry, Hermione, he's a bit overexcited to get out of the house." Hermione looked up to see the friendly eyes of Bill Weasley above her, offering her a hand to get up. She grasped it and now realised that there was a big, black dog sitting in front of her. In the magical world, they would call him a grim. Hermione called him Sirius Black.

"Ah don't worry, I know that Snuffles is a good boy, a really good boy. Aren't you?" Hermione playfully stroked Sirius' head. He growled lowly, which made Patricia take a step back, but Hermione knew better than to fear the animagus.

"Hermione, don't you want to introduce me to your friends?" Patricia finally said with her sweetest voice. She eyed Bill from head to toe and was obviously very happy with what she saw. Hermione had to admit that Bill looked as cool and handsome as ever and she could understand why Patricia was curious about him.

"Patricia, these are my friends Bill and Snuffles. This is Patricia, the daughter of our neighbours. Now, we just have to get my stuff and then we can be off." Hermione huffed and pulled Bill with her, who was smirking. Sirius was right behind them, waggling his tail excitedly. Inside the house, Bill quickly shrank Hermione's trunk so it fit inside her small bag pack. Crookshanks meanwhile came down, purring when he saw Sirius and entered his wooden basket peacefully for once.

"So, are we going to apparate?" Hermione asked with a small flutter in her stomach.

"No," Bill shook his head. "We will fly."

"What? In bright daylight?" Hermione panicked as she remembered Patricia, who would surely wait for them outside to ogle Bill again.

"Nah, don't worry. We will drive till we are out of sight and then activate an invisibility charm." Bill explained as they headed out. Hermione was a bit puzzled at this but then she saw the big motorbike with a sidecar.

"It is charmed similar like dad's old car," Bill explained and Hermione remembered the story of how Sirius had left it to Hagrid so many years ago. "Hagrid had it hidden somewhere the whole time but offered it for today. And that's why _Snuffles_ here wanted to come. Couldn't wait to be on the bike again, even if he isn't allowed to drive it himself since he can't be seen. So, you have the choice: Sidecar with Snuffles or on the bike with me?" Bill grinned and it reminded Hermione painfully of Fred for a second.

"I think Crooks will take the sidecar with Snuffles… Merlin, help me, I hate flying," Hermione muttered as she sat down Crookshanks basket in the car, Sirius jumping right after it. With a sick feeling in her stomach, Hermione settled down behind Bill and somewhere behind them she could hear Patricia Summers who was yelling _She's getting on the bike with the hottie now_ to someone on the phone.

"Oh, by the way," Bill called, "we're not going to the Burrow." And with that, he started the engine and the loud sound drowned out Hermione's questions.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Her first day at Grimmauld Place had been pure chaos. In the very first second after stepping into the building Hermione had _met_ Mrs Black, while Mrs Weasley and Ginny had stormed towards Hermione to engulf her with hugs. The Weasleys had stayed with Sirius at the headquarter of the Order of the Phoenix since the beginning of the summer holidays and Hermione slowly realised how much things were going to change from now on. Dumbledore and the order obviously prepared for something big.

Hermione had almost no time to settle in when Ron and she were called down. Dumbledore awaited them in the kitchen and made it very clear that they could write nothing of this place and the Order to Harry. Hermione and Ron both protested but in the end, Dumbledore won the discussion with his authority and the argument that it was for Harry's safety. Hermione still hated lying to her best friend and she knew Ron was equally angry.

As usual Hermione and Ginny shared a room and the two spent their evenings, and sometimes nights, with talking about lighter stuff, like boys and the upcoming school year. Ginny told Hermione how she was dating Michael Corner now officially but wasn't keen on sharing that information with her brothers. Ginny suspected Ron to flip. And the twins would probably prank Michael as a _well-meant_ warning. Hermione had to agree with those fears. They discussed who could be their new DADA professor and Ginny told Hermione how Percy and their father had their big fight.

After she had made herself comfortable at Grimmauld Place Hermione spent the following weeks with Ron, Ginny and the twins speculating about what the order planned, who the members were and how they could listen in. When Fred and George invented their Extendable Ears they were lucky for a while and got some information, but after Mrs Weasley caught them that possibility was quickly off the table too.

But most of the time they spent cleaning the house. Mrs Weasley seemed to think that it was a good way to keep them all busy and in her sight so that none of them could spy on the Order. It was dull work mostly, disgusting sometimes, but it tired them out. Even Fred and George were knackered most nights.

But no matter how tired or preoccupied Hermione was, one thing never left her mind. _Fred's soul mark._ She was still hesitant if she was right about it. If it really meant that they were soulmates.

She herself was quite sceptical of the whole soulmate things. For her - maybe because she was muggleborn, maybe because she was too sceptical per se - it was hard to believe that one person was your other half, your perfect match. Her parents had always told her that falling in love was unavoidable, but staying in love was a choice. And therefore your soulmate was the one you chose to spend your life with, and not someone destiny decided for you.

Hermione was hesitant to let her personal luck be determined by a single mark on her body. Especially if Fred really was her soulmate. They made absolutely no sense together, they didn't fit, no matter how madly in love Hermione was with him. Too different, not even real friends. Fred and Angelina, on the other hand, made absolute sense. They were perfect together. Both confident and laid-back, with similar interests. The longer Hermione thought about it, the more she came to the conclusion that she was wrong. Maybe it had been wishful thinking on her side when she saw Fred's soul mark. He believed his soulmate was Angelina and he was probably right.

Unfortunately, Mrs Weasley seemed to think that Hermione's rule-following character made her the perfect watchdog for Fred and George. She always ordered them for the same tasks while Ginny and Ron were doing different things.

Currently, Hermione was in an old bedchamber with Fred, George was forced to help Mrs Weasley at the kitchen while Ron and Ginny had to clean the bathroom on the second floor. Mrs Weasley had forcefully separated the twins after they had apparated through the house all morning and had everyone on edge after nine o'clock. Hermione and Fred were tasked with handling a nest of ashwinder eggs. The ashwinder snake itself was already gone, but the eggs glowed dangerously and emitted an unpleasant heat.

"A freezing charm is probably best," Hermione suggested as she wearily eyed the eggs. When handled wrong ashwinder eggs could catch fire in a blink of an eye and burn down buildings in minutes.

"One freezing charm," Fred grinned and stepped forward, wand held high and an air of confidence oozing from every pore.

"Be careful, okay? Ashwinder eggs are terribly unstable. One wrong move or imperfect spell and the house is history. Merlin, I don't get why your mother gave us this task. An adult should do this, Remus probably or Moody, they can handle-"

"Hermione, calm down. I'm good with charms, one of my three O.W.L.s and I even got an O. So, lean back, little Granger, and watch the master." Fred winked and with an anxious face, Hermione watched as he cast the freezing charm.

"Immobulus," Fred stated clearly and waved his wand perfectly. Instantly the eggs stopped to glow and the heat lessened. Hermione was impressed. Not that she thought of Fred and George as stupid or so, but the perfection and precision of Fred's charm work was most impressive.

"You can close your mouth, Granger," Fred smirked and he started to collect the eggs. Mrs Weasley had given them a bucket but Hermione noticed that quite a big amount wandered into Fred's pockets.

"You know, your mother told me to make sure you're not doing something stupid. I'm sure she would think you being in possession of ashwinder eggs is something stupid." Hermione stated as she started to help Fred. She didn't want to come off as a goody-two-shoes, but she couldn't help herself.

"Ah, don't worry," Fred winked, "as the muggles say. What the eyes don't see, the heart cannot grieve over. Or do you plan to tell my dear mother?"

"No, of course not," Hermione blushed. "What do you even want to do with those? I only can think of one thing that ashwinder eggs are good for…" She trailed off when she saw how Fred tried to look innocent. "You're not actually brewing love-po-"

"Shh, not so loud," Fred had clamped a hand over Hermione's mouth. "Please don't tell Mum." Hermione glared at him till he finally lifted his hand.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because I ask you to? And we're not planning something indecent. It's for the shop. Please, please, please…" Fred made puppy eyes, even folded his hands into a praying gesture, and sank down on the floor with one knee. Hermione knew he was mocking her to some degree. It annoyed and amused her to equal parts.

"Fine," she huffed, trying to conceal the smile that tucked on her lips. "But only because you're not my responsibility."

"Thanks, Granger, I knew you're okay." Fred smiled and packed a few more eggs into the pockets of his robes.

"One condition." Fred quirked an eyebrow questioningly. "Don't call me Granger anymore, I do have an actual name. And I know you know it since you use it occasionally."

"Deal, Hermione," Fred grinned and Hermione grabbed the bucket full with the remaining ashwinder eggs, heading down to the kitchen. She didn't know why she had asked Fred to call her by her given name, but the thought alone made her happier.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

A few days later news arrived that Harry had cast a Patronus charm in front of muggles and was now about to be suspended from school. Instantly the whole Order and everyone in Grimmauld Place was alarmed. And when Harry finally arrived a day later, grumpy and angry, Hermione knew that this school year would be vastly different. Harry was an emotional bomb with the shortest fuse ever. He exploded at them regularly over the first few weeks at Grimmauld and the situation only got better when he was cleared by the Wizengamot. The prospect of returning to Hogwarts made his mood tolerable again.

When the letters from Hogwarts arrived with their lists for the next school year, Hermione was over the moon to see that she was named Gryffindor prefect. Deep inside she had always hoped to become a prefect because it meant recognition of her abilities. But as soon as she came into Harry's and Ron's room and heard how Fred and George teased Ron for becoming a prefect, her euphoria was gone. For the remaining evening, she had to listen to Sirius, Fred and George, who were all celebrating that Harry wasn't named prefect, while Ron was only talking about his new broom. Hermione realised that this was just another point on the list why Fred and she were too different.

"Are you happy about being named prefect," Ginny asked when they went to bed.

"Hmpf, with everyone talking about how cool it is to be unfit for being a prefect. Yeah, I'm overjoyed." Hermione snapped. Crookshanks hopped into bed with her, curling beside her stomach.

"Don't worry, they only said that to cheer up Harry. I still can't believe they actually made Ron a prefect. I mean… he's not the most responsible person, right? And to be honest, I can't imagine that he will be able to control Fred and George." Ginny slipped under her own covers.

"Oh, tell me it won't be that bad…" Hermione pleaded when she remembered how Fred and George had collected potion ingredients from all over the house for their products. _But only because you're not my responsibility_ , she had said.

"Probably, but the last prefect who was able the handle them was Percy - the git -," Ginny added with an angry whisper, "but back then they hadn't developed their products so far…" The redhead mumbled sleepily. A second later Hermione heard how Ginny's breathing evened and knew she was asleep.

 _Well, I guess they're my responsibility now_ … Hermione realised with an anxious twitching in her stomach. The thought kept her awake for hours.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"Why don't you do me a favour and just shut up, Lavender? I had a long day and I'm not in the mood to discuss this with you!" Hermione snapped as she carefully slipped into her pyjamas. She had had a long day.

First the train ride with the other prefects. With Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein from Ravenclaw and Ernie McMillian and Hannah Abbot from Hufflepuff Hermione could live. They were mostly nice and friendly and were probably cooperative and good to work with. What really got her into a mood was Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson.

Malfoy had argued with the Head Boy and Girl over every little task they wanted to give him and made sarcastic remarks at every possible occasion. And of course, he had made comments about Harry whenever he could. Hermione could have killed him. Pansy Parkinson was no better. The cow drove Hermione almost up the wall with constantly asking stupid questions and interrupting whenever someone said something. It had been tiring. And then, of course, to make her train ride even more terrible, Ron and she had caught Fred and Angelina snogging in the hallway. While Ron had taken the mickey out of his brother, Hermione had quickly vanished into their compartment.

The rest of the day had been better, but still long with supervising the first years and reminding Ron of his duties and responsibilities. Hermione had looked forward to going to bed and reading a book in peace and quiet. But Lavender had other plans.

Since they had arrived in their dorm room the blonde was constantly trying to discuss the latest articles in the Daily Prophet with Hermione. It was painfully obvious that Lavender believed most of the terrible stuff and now tried the get information from Hermione. And Hermione really had tried to be polite and everything, but now she was just tired and annoyed.

"I just asked why you're believing Harry since he has no proof for his claims. But it seems like I hit a nerve here," Lavender smirked and Hermione suppressed the urge to strangle her.

"You know what, you can believe what you want," Hermione hissed, "and I will believe what I want. And I believe in Harry. So leave me alone, you dumb cow." Angrily Hermione closed the curtains around her bed. A few seconds later she heard the door crash when Lavender stormed out.

"Hermione," Parvati's voice sounded from outside the curtains. She didn't open them but Parvati continued talking either way. "I know it sounds selfish, but don't be too hard on her. Seamus' mother almost didn't allow him to come back and he's now super pissed at Harry. And Lavender kind of adopted his opinion. I don't think she really believes the Prophet, she's just worried about not seeing Seamus again." Hermione heard the door open and close again softer this time, and knew that she was now alone in their dorm.

Merlin, this year already started lousily. The propaganda against Harry, having to deal with Malfoy and Parkinson, Professor Umbridge, who was absolutely dreadful, and now this. Lavender and Seamus had started dating after the twins' birthday party and to some degree, Hermione could understand why Lavender behaved that way. But Hermione simply had no energy left today to be understanding and kind. She could only hope that things would get better quickly. For all of them.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Her hope wasn't fulfilled and the first week could be easily described in one word: horrible!

For Hermione personally, it hadn't been that bad, not visibly at least. She hated that she had to argue with Fred and George about their testing on first years. But now that she was prefect she felt that it was her responsibility and she couldn't always take the easy way out like Ron did whenever his older brothers were involved. To Hermione Gryffindor courage also meant to stand up for what you believed even when it was against your friends. Neville had taught her this years ago and Hermione still admired him for it. But still, she regretted that she threatened Fred and George with telling their mother. She knew she had gone too far the moment the words had left her mouth. But she had been so angry when Fred had started to taunt her - in front of the whole common room, while Ron had hidden away, and everyone else laughed - and she had used the first thing that came to her mind. Now the twins were angry with her.

Then Harry had managed to get himself into detention with Umbridge on the first day of school, for a whole week nonetheless, despite Hermione's perfect plan to confront Umbridge in class without Harry getting involved. After Hermione had seen the syllabus of the DADA class for this year she had instantly understood that they wouldn't learn much. With the same book ordered for all years and almost no practical chapters in said book, Hermione was sure she knew quite well were this was going. She had read the book two times during the holidays and was prepared to confront Umbridge. And she did. And it went well, she even got half the class involved with questioning their new teacher, till Harry's short fuse caught fire and he exploded again, getting detention. The perfect conclusion of a shitty week for all of them. Hermione really wished he would be able to keep a cool head.

Hermione groaned at the memory as she walked down for breakfast. She was tired from knitting elf hats till late last night. At least she was in time with her homework, instead of Harry and Ron who scribbled down the last lines of their charms essays at the breakfast table. Harry was behind because of his detentions, while Ron had sacrificed all his time to train for the Quidditch tryouts. At least he made it into the team.

Hermione rolled eyes when she saw her best friends doing homework, and instead went to sit with Ginny and a few other Gryffindor girls. She had warned Ron and Harry often enough that she wouldn't allow them to copy her homework this year. They needed to do it themselves if they wanted to pass their O.W.L.s.

Ginny was talking to one of her dorm mates while Hermione made herself a porridge. Opposite of her were Angelina and Alicia, in deep conversation about something. Hermione notices how tense Angelina was, her mouth in a thin line, while Alicia bombarded her with whispered questions. Hermione guessed it was about Quidditch. The position as captain had been very stressful for Angelina from the first day on. But suddenly Angelina jumped up and almost ran outside the hall. Half the Gryffindor table stared after her and at Alicia, who just shrugged with a sad expression on her face.

Ten minutes later Hermione entered the girl's bathroom the freshen up before class and discovered Angelina, who tried to fix her make-up, in front of the mirror. Her eyes were red and she sniffed miserably, her cheeks were still a bit wet and her mascara smeared.

"Angelina, are you alright?" Hermione asked while handing her a handkerchief.

"It's okay," Angelina hiccuped, dabbing her cheeks to clean up the mess on her face.

"Are you sure? You seem quite upset. Is it because of the Quidditch team? Harry told me you were stressed," Hermione asked carefully. She had always like Angeline. A bit less, to be honest, since the beautiful black girl had started to date Fred, but still, she liked her. They weren't close or anything but Hermione felt obliged to stay and care for Angelina. It wasn't nice to leave someone alone who was in such a state.

"No, it's not Quidditch, it's..." Angelina paused, mustering Hermione for a moment. "Well, everyone will know soon enough and then the whole school will be talking about it anyway. Fred and I broke up." She stated absolutely calm, but Hermione could see the mixture of sadness and anger in Angelina's eyes. It hadn't been an amicable break-up.

"What happened?" Hermione blurted out. "I mean, it's not my business but... you seemed so perfect together."

"Maybe, but it seems like our perfection was based on a mistake." Angelina looked into the mirror for a while, taking deep breaths to calm herself. "Alicia was bugging me with questions about why we broke up, it made me a bit emotional. I don't really want to talk about it. But thanks for caring, Hermione," Angelina tried a small smile and then left the bathroom with large, confident steps. She was back to being the fierce and strong person as always, her red eyes the only remaining proof of her moment of weakness. Hermione really admired Angelina. But there was also a small part of her cheering on the news that Fred was now single again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you like this turn of events? ;) I'm striving from comments so leave me one, I'm always happy :)


	20. Heartbreak and Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks to everyone who reviews and follows this story. There's no better motivation than your support.
> 
> I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

The news of Fred and Angelina's break up would have been the latest and hottest school gossip if it hadn't been for Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge, who was constantly putting the students on edge. The realisation that they wouldn't learn anything practical in her classes had dawned the whole school after just one week. While some were merely disappointed, annoyed or bored by the theoretical lessons, others were already questioning how they should pass exams and why the ministry didn't want them to learn anything practical. Hermione too had thought about it constantly but only after the floocall from Sirius a few days later she got her answer. Fudge actually thought that Dumbledore was trying to build an army of school children to take over the Ministry. Hermione almost rolled her eyes into her head in annoyance when she heard this nonsense. But it gave her an idea of her own.

Hermione sat in front of the fire in the common room, knitting her elf hats, and watched how Ron tried to finish his homework. Harry was again - because he just couldn't keep his mouth shut - in detention with Umbridge. This morning they had gotten the news that Umbridge had been named High Inquisitor of Hogwarts and Hermione had the urge to do something - anything - to undermine the new Professor.

"Ron, I had an idea," Hermione announced.

"Oh no, that can't be good," Ron muttered as he finally packed everything up.

"Very funny," Hermione glared at him. "You remember when Si- Snuffles said that Fudge thinks Dumbledore is building an army? That he doesn't want us trained in Defence for that reason." Ron nodded with a big question mark on his face. "Well, I thought maybe we should... take matters in our hands? If Umbridge doesn't want to teach us then we should teach ourselves."

"Blimey, Hermione, we're already swamped with homework and you want us to study even more?" He stared at her, his mind obviously imagining hour-long study sessions in the library.

"Well, we need it, don't we? Things are changing, Ron." Hermione played nervously with her knitting wool while she talked. "Till now Harry always saved the day, sometimes with our help, but let's be honest, we were always lucky. If we want to help Harry, like really help him, protect him, we need to be ready. And maybe others are interested too? I mean, so many students are already complaining about Umbridge's lessons, there will surely be a few who would want to join us, right?" For a moment Ron thought about her words quietly, before he finally nodded.

"Okay, but how? I mean, we can't learn all this from books. We get enough of that from Umbridge."

"Yes, I thought so too! What we need is practice. And a teacher." Ron stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "I thought of Harry, do you think he would want to do it?"

"Harry? Hermione, I don't think... he's not in the best mood in the last weeks. I don't think he will be too happy when you ask him." Ron frowned.

"Well, it won't hurt to ask," Hermione huffed. She had expected more enthusiasm from Ron. But in the end, he promised to help her talk with Harry. And to a degree Ron was right. Hermione also feared Harry wouldn't be thrilled with her suggestion.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

A few weeks after Fudge had named Umbridge High Inquisitor of Hogwarts Hermione finally managed to convince Harry of her study group idea. Now she only needed to convince other people too. Naturally, Hermione started with the Gryffindors and the people closest to her.

Ginny was on board before Hermione had even fully explained everything. And she promised to bring Michael Corner and some of his friends. Hermione wasn't surprised at all but still more than happy. Ginny was popular and good with people, with her help, the news would spread quickly but safely only around trustworthy students.

Next on her list were Neville and Dean. Hermione was sure that Neville would be interested since he and his grandmother believed Harry. Concerning Dean, she was a bit unsure. On one hand Dean never treated Harry differently but on the other hand, he was still Seamus' best friend. And Seamus would surely never join. But when she told Neville and Dean of her idea together they were both excited and promised to come.

"It sounds fantastic, Hermione," Neville breathed and grinned widely.

"What sounds fantastic?" Parvati asked as she stepped around the corner with Lavender. Hermione cursed internally. She hadn't planned to ask Parvati and Lavender because of their fight on the first night back. Lavender and Hermione had politely ignored each other since then. She was sure they wouldn't rat them out to Umbridge but it was always better to tell as little people as possible.

"Hermione plans some kind of study group to learn Defence from Harry, are you on board?" Neville smiled with childish enthusiasm, clearly not remembering that Lavender was Seamus' girlfriend. And as predicted, Lavender pursed her lips in a very disapproving way. But Parvati eyes sparkled with excitement.

"I'm in, and Padma will be too. We detest Umbridge," she declared and then threw a meaningful gaze towards Lavender. The blonde only nodded but she didn't look very happy. Hermione only shrugged and gave them the time and location of the meeting during the next Hogsmeade trip.

"You can tell others, but only people you really trust. We're not doing something forbidden but we shouldn't make too much fuss about it anyway or else Umbridge will surely find a reason to make it illegal," Hermione whispered. With almost all of her Gryffindor year mates on board, Hermione couldn't help but feel a bit proud. She was sure that Neville, Dean and Parvati would spread the news around the other houses quite fast and carefully so Hermione didn't have to do much more. She had only two more people on her list and that made her heart flutter a bit.

With a nervous smile, Hermione approached them later that evening after almost everyone else had gone to bed.

"Fred? George?" She asked to get their attention. Currently, the twins were huddled together on a corner table over some papers. Hermione knew it had it was something about the shop and their products from the way they quickly started to hide them from her.

"Granger!"

"Hermione, how wonderful to see you,"

"Want to yell at us some more?"

"Give us detentions?"

"Threaten us with our mother?"

"What will it be today?"

Both Fred and George grinned in a nonchalant way but Hermione could see that they were still pissed off about their fight a few weeks before. Their eyes didn't match the too bright smiles.

"It's not about the shop or your product testing," Hermione frowned. Then she pulled a chair towards the small, round table and sat down beside Fred, George slightly opposite of her on the other side of Fred. She felt bold in choosing this place.

"It's about Umbridge." Now both twins perked up with interest, the taunting grins gone. "We're founding some kind of study group to learn Defence. Harry will teach us. Interested?" Hermione smirked when she saw how Fred started to smile honestly at her. The twins exchanged a quick glance and then turned back to her with a mischievous twinkle in their eyes.

"That's the best idea I ever heard," George declared.

"Yeah, absolutely brilliant." Fred nodded and quickly Hermione told them about the meeting in the Hog's Head. Secretly she had hoped it would take longer to convince them but that had been just wishful thinking. Of course, the twins would be on board with the idea of having a semi-legal group to study Defence and duelling.

"What are you working on?" She asked on a whim. Honestly, what she really wanted to know was how Fred was coping with the break-up. In the Great Hall or the common room, he seemed absolutely normal. He joked with George and Lee, advertised their products everywhere and was, in general, the same person as ever. He didn't seem like he was heartbroken at all. If Hermione didn't know better she would say that nothing had happened.

"Don't worry your pretty head over it," Fred waved.

"Just something highly immoral," George grinned.

"Nothing you would approve of," concluded Fred and both snickered. Just as Hermione wanted to argue with them that she was indeed interested, the door to the common room opened and Angelina stepped in.

Angelina was the living and breathing proof that something had happened. Unlike Fred, she wasn't good at pretending that everything was fine. The moment she saw Fred, she blushed a deep red and her eyes narrowed. It was the same odd mixture between angry and sad that Hermione had also seen back then in the bathroom. It was like Angelina herself couldn't decide how she felt. Instantly Fred and George both went silent, staring at Angelina with wide eyes. But she said nothing and vanished with large steps up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

Quickly Hermione looked at the twins and then she saw it. Fred's pained expression. Sadness. Regret. Guilt. His mouth a thin line to prevent himself from saying anything. A moment later it was gone and Fred was the same as ever.

"Well, I think I'm going to bed," he shrugged with an easy smile. "It's too late to keep working anyway. Night, Hermione," with a friendly clap on her back Fred went to the stairs. George stayed behind, his facial expression carefully indifferent as he watched after Fred.

"George, why did they break up? Everyone thought they were perfect together." Hermione asked while George started to pack the scrolls of parchment.

"Yeah, I thought so too," George stood up and with a soft smile he tousled her hair in a very brotherly way.

"Don't wrack your brilliant brain over it, Granger. Your idea with the defence group is the perfect thing to keep Fred's mind off. Night," and with that, the second twin vanished too. Hermione huffed to herself. She knew it wasn't her business but she was so curious. She wanted to know why they had broken up and why there were behaving this way. But ultimately she wasn't brave enough to ask Fred herself.

_He thought they were soulmates, he was so sure_ , she remembered later in bed. _Does that mean they're not? Is that why they broke up?_ A little flutter of hope made Hermione grin as she put a hand on her own soul mark. Maybe, just maybe, she had been right all along.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione was just on her way down from her room with her cloak when she almost ran into Angelina, who was standing on the stairs of the girls' dormitories. It was right after breakfast and most students would head out to Hogsmeade soon.

"Oh, Angelina, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you," Hermione explained breathlessly as she steadied herself. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just waiting for Alicia and Katie," Angelina shrugged, but she also glanced down to the common room nervously. Hermione leaned forward and saw Fred, George and Lee joking in front of the fire. She raised an eyebrow at the older girl.

"Yeah, okay, I don't want to go out as long as they are here. Katie and Alicia are probably already waiting for me." Angelina huffed with a shy smile.

"Well, why don't you come with me? We could pretend to talk about something and ignore them? Actually, I do have something to tell you," Hermione smiled and grabbed Angelina's arm, pulling her down the stairs. On their way out she told her about the meeting in the Hog's head this afternoon.

"But there's a catch, Fred will be there too. The twins both want to join," Hermione bit her lip. In the last days, she had been torn between asking Angelina or not. She didn't want any awkwardness in their defence group but it was also petty to exclude Angelina just because of her ex-boyfriend.

"Of course," Angelina snorted a laugh," they would want to participate in something like that. But I'm in, no matter what. It sounds good," she smiled gratefully at Hermione and they parted ways in the Great Hall, were Alicia and Katie were waiting for Angelina.

Hours later Hermione stood before the large group that had come to the Hog's Head. More people than she had expected. Hermione wasn't surprised to see half of Gryffindor House walking into the shady pub. With Neville, Dean, Lavender and Parvati, her year was almost complete, only Seamus was missing, and Ginny had invited the Creevey brothers. Angelina waved at Hermione with Alicia and Katie in tow but took a place as far away from Fred, George and Lee as possible.

But Hermione was surprised to see so many students from other houses. Thanks to Ginny Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot had come, but there were also Luna Lovegood and Cho Chang, who was accompanied by a friend, and Padma of course. And there were a lot of Hufflepuffs too. Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones, which Hermione both liked very much, were there with Ernie Macmillian, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Zacharias Smith.

In the beginning, the meeting was somehow stiff and a bit challenging. Hermione was nervous when she was giving her speech, trying to make it clear why learning defence was important. But especially Zacharias Smith was making is more difficult with his questions and provoking statements in between, making Harry boil. Hermione could see that her best friend wasn't happy with the meeting, with the many people and what they might expect of him. But in the end, everyone agreed that they wanted to participate and Hermione felt quite proud.

That feeling vanished quickly when the disbanding of all school clubs was announced the next day. Hermione almost flipped when she realised that somehow the old hag had gotten wind of their plans. Not it was official. Their club or group or whatever would definitely be illegal. But at least none of them was the rat, Hermione recognised satisfied when no one turned up with a blemished face.

When Hermione saw how all the members tried to talk to Harry the morning after the announcement, she realised that they also needed a secret way to communicate. It was highly suspicious if Harry was in the middle of so many students from different houses talking to each other. And if they wanted to make arrangements for meetings and such, they couldn't do it in the Great Hall.

Hermione's first idea was to organise a phone tree, just without phones, as her elementary school had organised for the parents. Some kind of structure were Harry gave the information to several people, Gryffindors mostly, and they would have the task to give them to people from other houses during classes. That way the new could travel without everyone approaching Harry.

_There has to be a magical way for this_ , Hermione thought as she strolled to the library. A magical way to communicate in secret. She first thought of Tom Riddle's diary and Marauder's Map. Charmed parchment could be a way and with a password, it would be safe. But it had risks. Someone could overhear the password or read the message accidentally. Or the parchment could be lost because it would have to look as plain as every other piece of parchment. And of course, there was the problem of having to communicate with several people at the same time. Parchment would work perfectly as two-way-charm, but not if so many people were involved.

A sick feeling spread through her stomach when she realised that someone had already found a magical way to communicate. Voldemort himself had a way to summon his Death Eaters with the Dark Mark. Harry had told her how Voldemort had used the mark on the cemetery to call for his followers. And in the end, that's what they needed too. A way to notify people that a meeting and a place was set. But preferably not branded on the skin but on an object.

Hermione felt how her thoughts were running in circles. Something that would be unsuspicious if found and still easy to use. An everyday object. Something every student had and used. Something Umbridge couldn't confiscate. Determined Hermione emptied her school bag on the table and looked at what she carried around.

Books, of course, parchment, quills, ink, a lip balm, a tissue pack, her beloved hand mirror - which had saved her life and was like a talisman since then - and a few Sickels and one Galleon. Everything but the money could be easily lost or confiscated. Carefully Hermione tapped one of the coins with her wand. As predicted she couldn't change the appearance in any way, probably as a way to prevent misuse. But maybe she could make… And it wouldn't be too hard, just a simple transfiguration charm. And then something to change all at once. She had read about this charm a while ago, that could work.

A grin spread over Hermione's face. It was perfect and she just needed some stones to make it work.

A week later Hermione presented her fake Galleons in front of the newly named D.A.

"Honestly, Hermione, those coins are brilliant," Terry Boot admired the coin while everyone else formed pairs to practice the disarming charm. "The idea alone is pure genius but actually being able to do the necessary charmwork…"

"It really isn't that special," Hermione blushed. She was used to being shunned for her intelligence and her skills, especially in their younger years. Most people just thought of her as a bookwork and attributed her magical capability to her hard learning, which was true for some part, but meant that they dismissed the talent she had from the start.

"No, don't say that. It is special and really, really brilliant," Terry grinned. He was a shy, mostly silent boy, but brilliant in most classes. He was tall and lanky, with dark hair and brown eyes. And that was all Hermione knew about him. Hermione had never really talked to him before. The Ravenclaws were all a bit odd - not as bad as Luna Lovegood, no one was like her - and mostly seemed to be in their own world.

"Do you want to practice with me?" Terry suddenly asked.

"Oh, I already promised Ron to practice with him," Hermione answered nervously. She was never asked for form pairs within classes or so. Her classmates either thought she was annoying - like in charms when she managed the spells too quickly - or she helped Neville in potions.

"It's okay, I just thought it would be good to train with someone as smart as you," he waved goodbye and went off to partner up with Michael Corner. With a shrug, Hermione walked to Ron, who was already waiting for her impatiently.

The first meeting was a pure success. Most of the members were more than willing to learn from Harry. And Harry, in turn, was very motivated as a teacher. Hermione had had the suspicion that her best friend could do it well, but to see him being so good at teaching that really was something. Harry was patient and motivating, explained everything carefully and helped everyone equally. He was a bit like Remus Lupin back in the third year, Hermione thought when she saw how patiently he helped Neville with mastering the disarming spell.

"Good work, Hermione, you won me a Galleon from Georgie here," Fred winked as they all headed out. George just rolled his eyes. "Bet against you." Hermione grinned. Harry had asked Ron and Hermione to duel in front of the group as an example and Ron had been terribly sure that he would win against her. Well, his confident grin had vanished quickly and Hermione was more than a bit proud about it.

"Well, that was quite foolish, wasn't it?" She winked at Fred who let out a surprised laugh.

"It was!"

"Oy!" Both George and Ron exclaimed at the same time.

"I'm not foolish," George protested, while Ron exclaimed that it wasn't foolish to think he could win against Hermione. A bubbling laugh escaped Hermione as she looked at Fred, who had a mischievous grin on his face and soon followed her laughter.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione and Ginny were holding hands while they watched how Ron missed one Quaffle after the other. Everyone could see that he was more than nervous and the singing of the Slytherins didn't help with that. Hermione was ready to hex the Slytherins - especially Pansy Parkinson, who was conducting the whole song. Maybe, will a well-aimed spell, she knock the cow off her feet even from this distance...

Suddenly a flying Bludger caught Hermione's eye and she watched with horror how the murderous thing flew directly at Harry, who wasn't paying attention. She grabbed Ginny's hand more firmly but then, out of the blue, Fred emerged on his broom and hit the Bludger away. For one second Hermione was relieved but then Crabbe, new beater on the Slytherin team, hit the Bludger back, hard and fast, and Fred was too close to react in time.

Ginny let out a shriek as her brother was hit in the stomach by the Bludger and struggled to stay on his broom for a minute. Hermione stopped breathing and she was so focused on Fred, that she almost missed how everyone cheered when Harry caught the Snitch.

"Come on," Ginny pulled Hermione to the stairs. They almost ran down to the field, eager to congratulate and to see if Fred was hurt. But when they rounded the corner they only managed to see how Harry and George were beating Draco Malfoy into a pulp. Angelina was trying to pull them both off Malfoy while Katie and Alicia were restraining Fred, whose face was coloured with a deep, angry red which clashed horribly with his hair.

The shrill sound of Madame Hooch's whistle cut the air and a second later Harry and George were pushed away from Malfoy by an invisible spell.

"You two," Professor McGonagall stormed towards them, almost screaming at Harry and George. "In my office. Now!"

Hermione, Ginny and the rest of the team watched how the two trotted behind their Head of House. Ron was missing and Hermione guessed that he was sulking because of his bad performance during the game. A minute later they all silently decided to go back to Gryffindor Tower. On the way, Angelina explained to Ginny and Hermione what Malfoy had said to get such a rise out of the boys.

They waited for Harry and George longer than expected. Seated in front of the fire, but no one saying a word. Even Angelina, who was obviously boiling with anger, wasn't saying anything. And Ginny also looked like she had a few choice words about her brother's stupidity.

When Harry and George finally entered the common room everyone just looked up tiredly and no one wanted to ask. They knew McGonagall's punishments were hard and the old Professor had looked downright livid. It couldn't be good.

"Umbridge was the one who decided our punishment," Harry started as he sank down beside Hermione. "She thought we would learn our lesson better that way." He looked into the fire, pausing for a long very painful moment. George just glared at the old carpet like it had personally ruined his life. Hermione imagined the worst while they remained silent.

"She gave us a lifetime ban from Quidditch," Harry explained, his voice monotone. "And Fred too."

"WHAT?" The team gasped as one while Hermione just buried her face in her hands. Damn Harry and his short fuse. If he just would be able to keep a cool head from time to time. But she would never say that out loud. Hermione knew her friend was suffering enough without her pointing out the obvious.

While Hermione listened to the others discussing the punishment, she caught sight of Harry's hands, which were dirty and bloody. Probably wounded while beating Malfoy. Hermione suddenly remembered how she had watched an action movie with her father years ago. He had explained to her how painful it was to actually beat and injure someone, especially in the face. And that often the attacker hurt himself because of the bones and teeth. She took one look at George's hands and saw that he was hurt too.

Without saying anything she stormed up to her room where she kept the Murtlap essence. She had wisely ordered more after Harry's first detention with Umbridge as she suspected he would get into more this year.

"Here," Hermione sat down again beside Harry and handed him and George both a full bowl.

"You're a goddess," George sighed as the marks on his hands slowly healed. Harry just murmured lowly and nodded, his eyes closed.

"I'm going to bed," Angelina suddenly announced. There it was again, Hermione noted, the mixture of angry and sad. Whenever Fred was around - and Angelina wasn't preoccupied with something different - her eyes got that hard look while her mouth started to quiver. "Maybe this will all turn out to be a bad dream… maybe I will wake up and we haven't played yet…"

Alicia and Katie followed her, both worried looks on their faces. Ginny followed shortly afterwards.

"Let me look at your hands," Hermione demanded after a while. "Looks good. You're lucky you didn't break something while reconstructing Malfoy's face. Otherwise only Madame Pomfrey could have healed it."

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry smiled tiredly and with a hug wished her a good night.

"I think we will call it a night, too," George sighed and went to the stairs. But just as Fred got up to follow George Hermione saw a how he winced. Her face blanched as she remembered the Bludger.

"Fred, wait!" She held him back and softly pocked his ribs. He let out a pained yelp.

"Merlin's saggy balls, are you crazy?"

"You've been hit by a Bludger. Why didn't you go to Madame Pomfrey immediately? That must have hurt like hell." Hermione huffed as he pushed open his robes. Fred still wore a shirt underneath but now it was much easier to scan the skin with her fingertips. A part of her enjoyed it far more than she should - even thought about asking Fred to strip his shirt off - but the larger part of her mind was occupied with searching broken ribs.

"You know, if you wanted to get handsy with me, you just had to ask." Hermione could hear the smirk in Fred's voice but her eyes were fixed on her own wandering hands. She didn't want to miss an inch. Broken ribs could be very dangerous if not treated. They could punctate the lungs or cause internal bleeding.

"Shush, I'm trying to concentrate here," she shot back.

"And what exactly are you concentrating on?" His voice now sounded awfully amused.

"Admiring your muscles," Hermione replied sarcastically but she felt how Fred stilled under her fingers.

"As I said, you just had to ask, love." He grinned but Hermione only gave him an eye roll.

"I'm searching for broken ribs. But seems like you're lucky. You probably just have the biggest bruise in the history of mankind. Crabbe really is a brute." Hermione slowly closed his robes again and with a clap, on the shoulder, she wished Fred a good night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay you all, I hope you liked the new chapter. Let me know what you think. I'm quite nervous about the changing in the dynamics and the things that will soon happen in the following chapters. I actually have no idea if you can feel broken ribs or if you need a scan in every case. For the sake of the story let's all pretend it works that way, deal? ;)


	21. Mister Lover Lover

"Hagrid, you don't understand how this woman is. You saw her yesterday night! You have to be careful," Hermione tried to reason with Hagrid for the thousandth time this morning. She sat with him in his hut and tried to convince Hagrid to follow the classes of Professor Grubby-Plank. Her lessons at least were safe, followed the Ministry's approved plan and, most importantly, gave Umbridge no reason to sack Hagrid. But Hagrid wouldn't listen.

"Don' worry, Hermione. I've go' the perfect lesson planned. The studen's will love it." He grinned while he rubbed something dark green on his fresh wounds. Hermione was torn between asking why he was wounded again and between not wanting to know. Whatever Hagrid had hidden in the forbidden forest was surely not approved by the Ministry.

In the last weeks, Umbridge had visited all classes and Professor Trewlaney was already on probation. Hermione feared the worst for Hagrid. He was a half-giant, he was loyal to Dumbledore and therefore everything Umbridge detested. It was like he had a giant target on his back and Umbridge just needed to aim for the final shot. Hermione really feared the worst. Yesterday evening, when Hermione, Ron and Harry had visited Hagrid, they had witnessed how harsh the woman could be if she wanted to.

"Hagrid," she tried again but he shook his head.

"Don' worry," he smiled again and Hermione let out a deep sigh. For now, she would give up but she was sure that her help would be needed soon enough. She bid Hagrid goodbye and made her way back to the castle. It was the middle of November and already freezing cold. The castle grounds were swallowed by snow and Hermione needed to melt her way through.

When she finally reached the castle she saw Lee, Fred and George in the snow with some other seventh year students. Hermione knew some of them by names like Roger Davis and Patricia Stimpson, others she had only seen during meals or in between classes. They were all laughing loudly about some jokes from Fred who lazily charmed the snow to build statues.

Hermione's heart picked up the beat when she saw Fred. She was still wondering what had possessed her to be so bold with him. The memory alone made her blush and her fingers tingle. With a grin she witnessed how George bewitched some snowballs to fly up to the Gryffindor Tower to hit Ron in the face, who was complaining about the volume of the seventh years.

But then Hermione's almost choked on her laugh when she was how Fred leaned down to whisper something into Patricia Stimpson's ear while he pushed her hair aside. It was a very intimate gesture and Patricia blushed and giggled instantly. The familiar feeling of jealousy spread through her chest and with a frown Hermione entered the castle.

Fred was a mystery to her. It was like he had never had a relationship with Angelina. While Angelina visibly suffered from the break-up, Fred seemed to be in his best mood. If Hermione hadn't witnessed one or two small moments where his façade had slipped, then she would have believed that Fred was an utter and complete arse without feelings. But he wasn't, she knew him too well, he just behaved really strange.

Hermione ignored Ron's cries for help - she had told him he had to do his homework alone this year - when she entered the common room and went straight to Ginny's dorm room. The redhead was lounging on her bed, reading a magazine and eating some of Mrs Weasley's home-made Christmas cookies.

"I need your help," Hermione announced and flopped down on the bed beside Ginny. She helped herself to a cookie and then choose her words carefully.

"There's something I need to tell you but you have to promise you won't laugh, okay?" Ginny nodded with gleaming eyes, clearly interested in the news. "During the third task of the Triwizard Tournament George and Lee emptied a few buckets of water over Fred… And I helped him with getting dry and clean. And I think I saw something, well, his soul mark and…" By now Hermione's cheeks were burning.

"IthinkFredandIaresoulmates," she quickly pressed out before she lost the courage. The words came out slurred but Ginny still seemed to understand. The redhead looked stunned for a moment.

"But I'm not completely sure," Hermione added quickly. "That's why I need your help. I need to see the mark again to be sure."

"So, we're partners in crime again?" Ginny replied with an easy smile and Hermione loved her for it. Ginny didn't ask why Hermione wanted to know or told her how unlikely it was for Fred and her to be soulmates. Ginny just accepted that Hermione needed help and therefore provided it.

"Oh, Ginny, you're my eternal accomplice," Hermione winked. And then, with cookies and tea, they started to plan a scheme of how to get Fred Weasley out of his shirt.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Even though Hermione was worried about Hagrid, he still proved to be a ray of hope after the horrible weekend and the Quidditch ban. Fred, George and Lee roared with delight when they saw Hagrid during breakfast and made a big fuss off welcoming him back. They almost stormed the teachers' table and got a few glares from Umbridge and McGonagall. Their head of House still seemed a bit cross with them for getting banned from Quidditch. She was probably afraid of giving the Cup back to Professor Snape.

But their small happiness was destroyed when Umbridge inspected Hagrid's lessons and it ended as Hermione had expected it. With the Slytherins laughing and Umbridge grinning way too satisfied. Hagrid was completely embarrassed and mortified by the way Umbridge had treated him but he still didn't seem to comprehend that her behaviour was a strategy. But at least he started to listen to Hermione after he had gotten his letter and was on probation. Together they worked on Hagrid's classes and Hermione was able to talk him out of presenting more dangerous beasts.

But it was hard for Hermione to help Hagrid and keep up with all her other responsibilities and projects. The professors gave them more and more homework and the prefects had to do more shifts than ever. They had to help with the Christmas decorations and needed to look after the younger students and keep them silent and occupied, now that it was too cold to go outside. Hermione had almost no time to knit new hats for the elves, which deeply worried her.

But Hermione tried to use the little time she had. As she was levitating Christmas decorations on the floor in front of the Gryffindor common room, she thought about the things she had discussed with Ginny. They had had multiple ideas on how they could get Fred to strip his shirt off and one idea was crazier than the other. The afternoon had been full of fits of laughter but in the end, they had no real plan.

Of course, there was the possibility to just get Fred wet again and hope he would strip. Ginny had suggested that Hermione could borrow Harry's cloak and sneak into the bathroom to see Fred shower. Hermione had quickly dismissed both ideas. The first was too unreliable and the second was out of the question.

_I could prank him with vanishing his clothes_ , Hermione mused as she put the finishing touches with the tinsel when she heard low laughter and stampeding footsteps. Curiously she rounded the corner just in time to see Fred and George vanishing behind a picture. A second later Filch, completely out of breath and with a bright magenta and orange coloured face, rounded the same corner and yelled angrily at Hermione.

"Where are they? Those demonic twins?"

"I'm sorry Mr Filch, I didn't see anyone," Hermione replied with as much innocence in her voice as possible. For a moment Filch looked at her warily but then decided to believe her.

"Oh, I will find them. Come, my sweet, let's search," Filch whispered to Mrs Norris, Hermione completely forgotten again. Hermione waited several seconds before she slowly went towards the picture were Fred and George had vanished. It was a picture of a very thin, noble-looking witch who eyed Hermione from above.

"What can I do for you?"

"I saw two boys vanish here, is there a room behind your picture?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I fear you will need a password to get inside." The witch answered with an arrogant smile.

"Oh… well, I don't know it. Would you open for a prefect?" Hermione showed her badge but the witch shook her head. "Then maybe a little help? A tip?" Again the witch shook her head a no. Hermione cursed internally. She really was curious now. And she wanted to get inside. So she started to randomly guess.

"Quidditch. Bludger. Pranks. Canary Creams. Fever Fudge. Nosebleed Nougat. Fainting Fancies. Weasleys' Wizards Wheezes. Mischief Managed." But the witch didn't even flinch and after ten minutes of no luck with guessing the password Hermione finally gave up. She had to try another time or maybe she could follow the twins one day. She added the hidden room to her constant list of mysteries around Fred she had to solve.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"I swear, we weren't so cheeky their age," Ron complained about two second-years, who had talked back when Hermione and Ron had sent them to their common room due to the curfew coming up soon.

"No, we were just smuggling a baby dragon through the whole castle after curfew and brewed an illegal potion," Hermione grinned.

"Maybe, but we weren't cheeky about it. You know, it still amazes me that Dumbledore made _us_ prefects," Ron laughed. "Okay, you were the obvious decision," he added quickly, "but still, we got in so much trouble in the last years…"

"Yeah," Hermione smiled at the memories. They made their way through the floors they were assigned to patrol while peacefully talking about lessons, the upcoming O.W.L.s and ranting about Umbridge. It had been a while since Hermione and Ron had been this normal and friendly towards each other. Ever since third year and their big fight about Scrabbers and the firebolt, there had always been a fight or banter between them. In fourth year first when Ron had been angry at Harry and then because of her brief romance with Viktor. And since the beginning of the new school year they had already had their fair share of snapping at each other because of their prefect duties - or more precisely Ron's neglect of them when it came to his brothers - and Harry, whenever he was moody again.

Suddenly they heard a familiar whispering and shuffling and Hermione and Ron both rolled their eyes at each other. The sounds came from an unused classroom.

"You go," Ron sighed. "I already had two of those this week." Hermione groaned. She whipped out her wand and - with making as much noise as possible - she cast the _Alohomora_ charm. Hopefully, the noise would make it possible for whoever was _active_ inside there to cloth themselves a bit.

Hermione hated running in on couples during her rounds. It seemed like everywhere in the castle was a good place to hook up. Bathrooms, broom sheds, classrooms, even empty floors, she had run into couples everywhere. Ron and she had therefore developed a strategy. Whenever they thought they heard a couple in action they made as much noise as possible the give them a chance to run or at least get decent.

Very slowly Hermione opened the door and stepped in while Ron stayed behind. That was part of their Anti-Umbridge-Strategy. Since Ron and Hermione had discovered Harry's wounds after his detentions, they tried to keep students away from the horrible toad. So, one of them always played the look-out to warn them when Umbridge was near.

As soon as Hermione had opened the door fully, she froze. In the middle of the room, in front of a desk, stood Fred and tried to bottom-up his shirt. On the desk was a seventh year Ravenclaw girl with a massive blush on her face while she pushed her skirt down quickly.

"Hermione, good evening," Fred greeted her smoothly with a lopsided smile. "I would say it's a pleasure but I'm afraid you interrupted the real plea-" The girl swatted Fred on the arm - hard, as it seemed from the way he flinched - and jumped off the table. With a shy smile, she nodded at Hermione and then left to hurry off to her dorm room.

Hermione was still struggling with finding her voice again when Ron came in, groaning loudly when he saw his older brother.

"Bloody hell! Again? That's the third time this week, Fred." Ron shook his head, his ears slightly red, but Fred only grinned.

"What can I say? The ladies all want a piece now that I'm free and willing again," he winked.

"You caught him two times already?" Hermione suddenly asked when Ron's words sunk in. Her blood was boiling with anger. Why she wasn't sure. She was angry because she was jealous, that was clear. But she was also disappointed. And maybe a bit angry on behalf of Angelina, who certainly seemed to be the only one who suffered from the break-up.

"Yeah, he's all over the castle with his conquests," Ron muttered. "Never caught him with Angelina, but now…"

"Ten points from Gryffindor," Hermione stated flatly.

"WHAT?" Both Fred and Ron stared at Hermione in disbelief.

"Hermione, you can't dock points from our own house. Do you want Slytherin to win the cup?" Ron roared.

"Fred's out after curfew and you admitted you already caught him two times this week. And I guess you didn't punish him then, did you?" Ron's ears turned an even deeper shade of red.

"Thought so. Ten points are an absolutely fair punishment. You can deal with the rest, Ron," Hermione glared and with clenched fists, she hurried off to her dorm room.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"You know, it seems like we don't need to make some big, elaborate plan anymore," Ginny whispered as she glared at Fred a few days later during dinner. "It seems like all it needs these days to get Fred out of his clothes is a skirt and the promise to take it off."

Hermione and Ginny had chosen a place far away from Harry, Ron and the twins in order to share the latest gossip. Hermione was still furious with Fred - no matter if she had the right to be or not - and he too was miffed about the points she had taken. Ginny was, like Hermione, not impressed with her older brother's newest antics.

Without Hermione's knowledge - which didn't say much because she was totally uninformed about the school gossip anyway - Fred had become some kind of playboy since his break-up from Angelina. Ginny had admitted that she had rumours since a while but hadn't believed them, mainly because she didn't want to. But now Ginny had reached out to her main gossip sources, like Lavender, Parvati and Romilda Vane, and they had a good picture of what Fred was up to. And with whom.

"Romilda says he's flirting with almost all girls from the sixth and seventh year. She actually complained that he never hooks up with fifth years or below. I don't know how far he's going with his conquests, and frankly, I don't want to know, but I still think it's strange." Ginny poked her noodles. "Before he got together with Angelina Fred was also a bit of a player, flirty, but he never had affairs or at least no one knew. Now it's like he wants the whole school to know."

"You're talking about Fred?" Alicia asked as she sat down. Hermione hadn't seen her coming but the blonde girl had a furious expression on her face. "Some girl from Hufflepuff was boasting about how good he's in the sack today in the girls' bathroom. Right in front of Angelina! Even provoked her with asking for Ange's opinion. I'm so close to hexing the living hell out of Fred."

"Where is Angelina?" Hermione asked as she looked around.

"Said she wasn't hungry," Alicia started to aggressively cut her boiled potatoes. "The bloody git, I'm going to kill him." Alicia glared at Fred, who was now flirting with another girl and Ginny let out an annoyed huff. George meanwhile was pranking Ron with some canary creams.

"I don't get how he does it," Ginny murmured. "By now the whole school knows he's only sleeping around, why would anyone want to hook up with him?"

"To blow off some steam I guess," a voice behind them suggested and all three of them jumped slightly. With a slight grin, Lee Jordan sat down, besides Alicia. "It's the last year for most of them and they're stressed because of the N.E.W.T.s, maybe Fred offers some relaxation." Alicia narrowed her eyes at Lee.

"That doesn't explain why Fred behaves like a heartless git. Do you have any idea what Angelina has to endure?" Alicia's expression was warning enough for Lee not to defend Fred so he just lifted his hands in surrender.

"Hey, I have nothing to do with this, I just came to ask if I could borrow your notes from the last charms class." Lee tried a smile but it faltered when Alicia still glared at him like she wanted to kill him. Hermione and Ginny both giggled at the display. Alicia was normally a pretty relaxed young woman but today she proofed that she could be quite terrifying if she wanted to.

"My best friend is probably crying her eyes out right now because of that stupid ginger git, no offence Ginny-"

"- none taken-"

"- and you want to borrow my notes? Probably want to share with Fred and George? In your dreams, Jordan." Alicia raised her voice slightly.

"Right, got the point, _Spinnet_. But has it ever crossed your mind that Angelina is not the only one who's hurt?" Lee sounded cold now and Hermione suddenly had the urge to leave the table. This conversation turned into a nasty fight, which Hermione didn't want to witness necessarily.

"He's certainly not acting like it. Flirting around and shagging girls like he wants to break some record. Seems more like she never meant something to him anyway."

"That's rubbish and you know it!" Lee almost shouted and for a moment he and Alicia just glared at each other. Both boiling with anger.

"Is that why Fred is behaving that way?" Hermione interrupted their fight. "Because Angelina hurt him?"

"And now he's getting back at her?" Ginny asked. Hermione and Ginny both looked expectantly at Lee, as did Alicia.

"Even if something like that is the reason, I can't believe Fred would be that petty. Right, Lee?" Alicia stated when Lee didn't answer to Ginny's and Hermione's question. He stayed silent but started to play with an unused fork, so Alicia just continued to talk.

"And I can't believe Angelina would actually hurt him. She was really, really in love with him. Maybe she still is. Oh, would you please say something, Lee?" She snatched the fork from his hands. For a moment Lee was silent, then he just shrugged.

"You know, I don't really know anything. George knows, of course, but he says Fred doesn't want to talk about it. I just know that Fred is hurt, no matter how hard he tries to hide it. And I know that George isn't quite fond of this new playboy Fred either, so it's only a matter of time till he knocks some sense into Fred. This-" he waved towards Fred, who was still involved with the Ravenclaw girl, "should end soon."

"Well, for now, I'll try to believe the best of Fred. But maybe I will still hex his balls off," Alicia stated and a small grin tucked on Lee's lips.

"Please do," Ginny grinned. "No matter why he's behaving like this, I don't like it. Everywhere I go I have to listen to girls swooning about him, a bloody nightmare."

"Yeah, but tell me beforehand. We could sell tickets," Lee joked. "So, what about these notes now, can I have them?"

"Get out of my sight before I hex you," Alicia threatened. Lee stuck out his tongue at her but fled when she waved her wand.

The three of them watched Lee strut away to George while Fred walked off with the girl. They all groaned but for very different reasons. Alicia because she was frustrated and angry with both Fred and Angelina. Ginny because she really didn't want to know more about her brothers love lives than necessary. And Hermione because every new girl was another nail of jealousy hammered into her heart. She really was sick of being miserable because of Fred Weasley and the renewed hope of the last few weeks made it all just worse.

She needed to know if he really was her soulmate or not. It would make things so much easier if she knew. If Fred wasn't her soulmate it surely wouldn't hurt as much anymore. She would be able to let go of him. Hermione felt her anger flare. Damn Fred and Angelina for their break-up. She had been on such a good way with healing her heart and everything and then he went and broke up with his alleged soulmate. And now he behaved like an idiot. Damn him.

Hours later Hermione stormed into the Gryffindor common room, terribly pissed off and ready to blow something into pieces. Or better someone. Like Fred Weasley, who was running after her with an angry scowl on his face.

"I can't believe you docked points off again!" He almost shouted.

"And I can't believe you got caught after curfew with a different girl _again_!" Hermione countered. There were only a few people left, among them Ginny and George.

"Oh, is this about the girl? Are you jealous, Granger? Did you like what you felt that night," Fred started to smirk mockingly. Then he leaned down and loudly stage whispered. "As I said, you just have to ask." Hermione felt a rush of heat coursing through her body. Partly because of the suggestive tone in Fred's voice, partly because she was embarrassed, but mostly because of anger. He had fought with her on the whole way back to the common room and now Hermione just saw red.

"Like I would ask you, _Weasley_. What was the word you used to describe him during dinner, Ginny?"

"Man whore!" Ginny provided with small laughter in her voice. Both she and George were watching the fight with big interest and wide eyes.

"Oh yes, man whore. Sorry, but I'm more of a quality-before-quantity-type of girl."

"Oh, don't worry, love. I've got plenty of quality. Want me to show you?"

"Can't be much of a show when none of your girls come back for seconds. Thanks, but no thanks." Hermione smirked. Fred just stared at her open-mouthed.

"If I catch you after curfew one more time I will give you detention. And close your mouth, it doesn't look very attractive." Hermione added, not without some triumph in her voice. She walked off to the stairs but then she changed her mind last minute. Determined Hermione turned around and locked eyes with Fred.

"Fred, I don't know what happened between Angelina and you but if she ever meant anything to you, then you have to stop this. I don't know why you're behaving that way and I'm not sure if you know it yourself. But it certainly isn't the best way to deal with a break-up." Fred still stared at Hermione silently, now seemingly holding back a comment. So she decided to leave him alone for now.

Ginny followed Hermione, who slumped down on her bed tiredly. It felt like all she did these days was studying and fighting with Fred, and sometimes with George, about his pranks, products and love affairs. She repeatedly caught the twins while selling their stuff, and even if Hermione didn't like it herself she had to intervene. Umbridge was getting harsher and harsher with her punishments against Weasley products. Or she caught Fred with a girl in compromising positions.

But today had been different. Today Hermione had been caught off guard. Ron and she had divided to cover more ground since two other prefects were in the infirmary with a cold.

Hermione hadn't heard them beforehand and so, when she walked by the normally empty classroom, she got a full sight of Fred kissing some girl. Both were partly undressed. The girl in only her skirt and bra, Fred shirtless and his pants already opened. But that hadn't been the worst thing. The worst was that Hermione could get a very good sight of his naked stomach. And his soul mark. Completely identical to her own. When reality finally got her, she had started to scream at them. And that's how Hermione and Fred had started the fight that ended in the common room minutes ago.

"I saw the mark," Hermione whispered as her eyes filled with tears. She felt overwhelmed. And she was tired of fighting. Fighting with Fred. Fighting her own feelings.

"And now you're crying because he's not your soulmate and you wanted him too, or are you sad because he is and my dear brother is behaving like a prat?" Ginny asked while she handed Hermione a handkerchief.

"The second," Hermione sniffled. Ginny's eyes widened but she said nothing. Perhaps she instinctively knew that Hermione needed a minute. They sat in silence, the curtains of Hermione's bed pulled tightly and a silencing charm set in place.

"I'm in love with him," Hermione finally broke the silence. "Since the beginning of the fourth year, maybe longer than that." The confession hung heavy between them and Hermione saw how Ginny bit her lip.

"Sorry for not telling you sooner."

"It's... okay, I wish you had said something but I know you. You do things at your own pace. Is Fred the reason you broke up with Viktor?"

"Partly," Hermione nodded. They spent the next hour by discussing how Hermione had realised her feelings for Fred, how she had started to like Viktor Krum and how painful it had been to see Fred dating Angelina.

"Will you tell him? He's single again, maybe-"

"And he's behaving like he wants to stay single for awhile." Hermione huffed. "And just because we're soulmates and I have feelings for him doesn't mean he feels the same for me, right? I mean, he dated Angelina, now he's shagging half the female school population. I don't see how this will end well if I tell him we're soulmates. He will probably laugh at me."

"Fred would never do that. Mum drilled into us that soulmates are sacred," Ginny started to softly caress Hermione's hair, braiding it into a tight plait.

"Maybe, I need to think about it," Hermione yawned. Ginny hummed approvingly and together they drifted off to sleep.


	22. Making Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long. I needed a short break from everything ;)

The last D.A. meeting before the holidays was a revision of everything they had learned until now. Harry didn't want to start something new and Hermione was glad that she didn't have to concentrate on learning something new. She was still trying to wrap her head around the soulmate thing.

"Hey Hermione, you already got a partner?" Terry Boot walked towards Hermione again as he had during the last three meetings. Till now Hermione had always told him no because she had Ron as some kind of permanent partner. But this morning Ron and she had had a row about some stupid homework she wouldn't let him copy and now Hermione was more open to a new partner.

"No, I'm free today." She answered while glaring at Ron, who gaped at her.

"Brilliant," Terry grinned and they occupied one corner of the room to practice. Terry proofed to be an excellent training partner. His spell work was perfect and his reactions almost as good as Hermione's. For a while, they dutifully followed Harry's instructions and practiced the spells they learned until now. Terry obviously didn't need any more practice, like Hermione, so she wasn't surprised when he suggested a little duel.

"Would make things a bit more interesting, wouldn't it?" He grinned and Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"It would," she agreed and got into position. Hermione didn't think that Terry was as arrogant as Ron to think he could beat her easily. But still, Hermione was suddenly very determined to show him how interesting she could be if provoked.

To Hermione's own surprise Terry Boot proofed to be a quite good duellist. He was quick with his spells and was not afraid to hit Hermione with everything he got. After just five minutes they were battling a full-blown duel. Hermione vaguely registered that the other members had stopped their own practice to watch them, but she didn't care.

Terry was flinging another stinging hex at her but Hermione canceled it out with a grin and a shield charm. A second later she shot a stinging hex towards Terry. But he was lucky and narrowly escaped with a jump. However, that was Hermione's chance. While Terry was still in mid-movement, she cast a disarming spell and finally got him. With an exhausted laugh, she caught Terry's wand and twirled it playfully.

"Should have known that Hermione Granger would beat me," Terry said with a grin and walked over. In contrast to Ron who always pouted a bit when Hermione was better than him, Terry seemed neither surprised nor angry.

"Well, at least you tried," Hermione joked. "But seriously, that was really good. You're an amazing duellist."

"You're both," Harry approached with a big grin. "But next time you give us a warning before you decide to try to kill each other, okay?" The whole room erupted into laughter and only now Hermione and Terry realised that it had been dead silent. Everyone had been watching their little duel. Hermione felt how her face warmed, probably blushing in a bright red.

After the meeting, Harry stayed suspiciously behind with Cho Chang while Hermione walked off with Ginny. Together they strolled back to the common room.

Hermione absentmindedly started her letter to Viktor. She felt a bit guilty for writing him so scarcely during the last months. Ron was sitting beside her, working frantically on his latest essay. Much later Harry finally came back, an odd little smile on his face. Whispering he told them about his first kiss with Cho.

It turned out to be one of the best evenings of the year. Just the three of them, sitting in front of the fire and talking about everything and nothing. Just like in their first years at Hogwarts, when everything had been easier. Or at least less depressing. Umbridge's presence in the castle and her constant meddling with their lives really made Hogwarts a worse place.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The next morning Hermione woke up with a little joyous flutter in her stomach. The holidays were only a day away and this year she was actually glad to go home. She missed her parents and she needed a bit time away from the school, Umbridge and Fred. Maybe the holidays would help her to make a decision about whether she wanted to tell him about the soul mark or not.

Just as Hermione wanted to walk into the Great Hall, she was stopped by Neville who looked even more nervous than normal.

"Hermione, last night Harry and Ron-"

"Miss Granger, could I have a minute?" Umbridge interrupted them and Hermione saw how Neville's face turned white.

"I fear you will have to wait, Dolores." Professor McGonagall rounded the corner. Both she and Umbridge seemed a bit out of breath and Hermione thought that they might have raced each other to get to her. What the hell was going on?

"I need to talk to Miss Granger first about her prefect duties since Mr Weasley is not available during the train ride tomorrow." Umbridge's face turned dark red but McGonagall ignored her and made Hermione follow her.

"Professor, what is going on?"

"The headmaster will answer your questions," McGonagall led Hermione to the headmaster's office, where Professor Dumbledore was already waiting for her.

"Miss Granger, sit down. May I offer you some tea? Or a biscuit?" Professor Dumbledore asked in his usual calm manner. Hermione declined politely, too nervous to drink or eat something.

"Very well," the headmaster leaned back. "I have to inform you that Harry and the Weasley children all left the castle during the last night. They're currently at Grimmauld Place with Sirius. Arthur Weasley was injured during a mission for the Order and is currently at St Mungos. As far as I know, he will survive. Of course, the sudden departure of five students in the middle of the night alerted Professor Umbridge, who's now trying to gather information."

"Of course, Professor, I won't tell her anything," Hermine said eagerly. "Professor, can I go to Grimmauld Place too? I want to be there for Harry and the Weasleys." Hermione's heart was aching with worry for her friends. Ron and Ginny were surely terrified and she could easily guess that the Twins would be furious.

"I wanted to ask you this exact same thing. Hermione," Dumbledore watched her over the rim of his glasses. "We were alerted of the attack on Arthur by Harry. He had a vision about the attack." Hermione stopped breathing. That was bad. Really bad. Harry would surely be devastated about having seen the attack.

"When can I go? I have my things already packed," Hermione announced forcefully. If the others had left Hogwarts at night then there had to be a way for her too.

"I fear you will have to wait for the official start of the holidays. Professor Umbridge will only become more suspicious if another student vanishes right under her nose." Hermione wanted to argue, wanted to convince the headmaster that it was necessary for her to leave as soon as possible. But she knew it wouldn't help her. When Dumbledore had decided to do something a certain way then there was no way to change his mind.

Professor McGonagall accompanied Hermione back to the Great Hall, giving her all the necessary information about the train ride tomorrow. Since Gryffindor was one prefect short, they had to share the prefect duties differently than planned. It wasn't that much work but made a good cover story for Umbridge.

The pink menace started to question Hermione as soon as she walked into the defence classroom. But since Hermione hadn't been there when Harry had vanished during the night - Lavender and Parvati even backed her when Umbridge questioned if Hermione had left her dorm room - there wasn't much the horrible Professor could do. It seemed like she had already questioned Neville, Seamus, and Dean during the morning, but all three had said they only knew that Ron had brought Harry to the hospital wing. By the end of the day, Umbridge was clearly foaming with anger. But there was nothing she could do.

The 24 hours till the train left Hogsmeade the next day proofed to be one of the hardest in Hermione's life. She felt helpless and frustrated, guilty because she had to lie to her parents, and tired from constantly avoiding Umbridge and her nagging questions. When Hermione finally boarded the train with Neville she had the feeling that her holidays would be very different from what she had expected.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

With shaking legs Hermione stumbled out of the Knight Bus and thanked all Gods and higher powers that she had survived the trip. Hermione had thought it was a good idea to take the Knight Bus for the short trip between King's Cross and Grimmauld Place but now she wished she had decided on muggle transportation. A taxi would have been more expensive and probably slower but at least not so sickening.

Hermione breathed in one last time before she knocked. It was almost six in the evening and she was tired, felt a bit sick but still hungry. She wanted nothing more than to rest a bit but as soon as the door was opened she saw how Ron and Ginny stormed towards her.

"You have to talk to him!" Ron exclaimed.

"He's ignoring us and hides in Buckbeak's room." Ginny hugged her as a greeting. Hermione had some trouble to follow them because Ron and Ginny started to interrupt each other again and again.

"Behaves totally mad-" Ron barked.

"Thinks he's possessed by you-know-who." Ginny rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"-and hasn't eaten since yesterday morning," Ron concluded like it would explain everything.

"Stop!" Hermione finally interrupted them. "Could you not do that? I think only Fred and George can do this twin speaking thing and still get the message across."

"Thanks, Granger," George rounded the corner. "At least some recognises the immense talent we have." Grinning George hugged Hermione too as a greeting and for a moment she was surprised. Neither of the twins had hugged her as a casual greeting till now.

"That's not the point right now," Ron cried. "Harry is isolating himself from us, he doesn't eat and I'm sure he doesn't sleep. Hermione, you have to do something. You're better at these things than I."

"Okay, okay, calm down. First things first, how is your Dad?"

"We visited him yesterday morning. He's fine," George laughed. "Already driving Mum mad with some crazy Muggle things. He got… stitches? She almost killed him." Ron, Ginny, and George all grinned at the memory.

"That's wonderful. So, what's wrong with Harry? What happened? Dumbledore said Harry had some kind of vision about your father being attacked. Why is Harry so upset? He had this kind of visions before, right?" For a moment the three Weasley children looked at each other and Hermione uncomfortable before finally, Ginny started to explain what they had heard in the hospital. How they had come to know that Harry hadn't seen the attack as an outsider but from the perspective of the snake.

"And know he probably thinks that he was the snake," Hermione huffed. "One day I will get it inside his thick head that you can't apparate in and out of Hogwarts." And with that Hermione made her way upstairs, still in her cloak. With determination she hammered against the door to Buckbeak's room, demanding Harry to come out.

It took Ron, Hermine, and Ginny an hour to convince Harry that he hadn't been the snake. That this was just - as before - part of his connection with Voldemort. Hermione admired how calm Ginny explained to Harry how it had been for her to be possessed by Voldemort and why it was different from Harry's experience. For the first time, Hermione thought that maybe Ginny really could be a good match for Harry, especially when she was so confident and purely herself around him.

Hermione was just on her way down to ask Mrs Weasley if she needed help with preparing dinner when someone intercepted her on the first floor. A second later Hermione found herself in an empty room with George, who grinned sheepishly at her.

"Granger, I have a favour to ask," he ruffled his hair with one hand. "Could you talk to Fred, maybe? I think what you said the other day about Angelina… it really got him thinking, I think." Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"And what do you want me to talk with Fred about? Angelina again? I'm not sure if I'm the right person for that. I have no idea what happened between them."

"No…" he sighed. "I don't know. It's just, he behaves funny and I don' know what to do. It's the first time in our life that I can't get through, he's so stubborn."

"George, what exactly do you want me to do?" Hermione bit her lips, a nervous habit from her childhood days.

"I have no idea… could you just go upstairs and," George shrugged, having no words and no idea obviously what he wanted.

"I will think about it," Hermione smiled and then went downstairs to the kitchen. Honestly, she was a bit excited that George wanted her to talk with Fred. Nervous and confused, but still excited.

After helping Mrs Weasley with the preparations for a while Hermione took two plates of sandwiches upstairs with her. One she brought to Ron and Harry who were thanking her with full mouths. Harry's self-induced isolation during the last two days had made him very hungry apparently and Ron was always hungry like a wolf. Hermione rolled her eyes at them and then went to search Fred.

She found him - to her surprise - in the library. Fred was leaning over some books in deep concentration and didn't even recognise Hermione's arrival. With a smile, she placed the plate beside him and laughed when Fred jumped a bit.

"Didn't know you could sit still for more than five minutes. Must be fascinating literature," Hermione teased and grabbed a sandwich for herself. Maybe this was the funny behaviour George had mentioned. A Weasley twin concentrating on reading rather than causing explosions. That really was odd.

"Very funny," Fred didn't take a sandwich and didn't seem very talkative. Another point on the list of odd behaviour.

"So, what are you researching?" Hermione pulled one of the books closer and skimmed the pages. Her eyes widened when she recognised the complex spells. "Fred, these are really advanced defence spells. They aren't even teaching those for N.E.W.T.s. What do you want with that?"

"I want to join the Order," Fred grabbed the book back, an angry frown disfigured his handsome face. "Bill and Charlie are both in the Order. I bet Percy would be allowed too if he wasn't a total prat. It's just George and me who aren't allowed to do anything. I mean, even Ron is always in the middle of everything with Harry. He is allowed to fight. And so are you."

"It's not like anyone allowed it. And we're not actively searching for a fight. It just happens." Hermione shrugged but she knew it wasn't what Fred wanted to hear.

"Maybe, but it's not the same," Fred huffed. Hermione chewed on her sandwiches slowly while she listened. She let Fred talk because she felt that he needed some time to rant to someone.

"Mum is doing everything she can to prevent George and me from joining the Order. She doesn't want us to help. Everyone else is allowed to do their part, to fight, we're the only ones left out. Because we're too young, not out of school, not experienced enough. She has an argument for everything. I bet she was the one who made these rules, specifically for us. I doubt that Sirius and Remus waited till they were out of school to join. She probably thinks we're too stupid, because we only got three O.W.L.s each, and never became prefects." Fred murmured the last words almost inaudible but Hermione understood well enough. Carefully she put her sandwich down and moved closer to him.

"Fred," she placed a hand on his shoulder to make him look at her. "I doubt that your Mum thinks you're stupid. She might be not very impressed with your dreams right now but I don't think it has anything to do with thinking you're stupid or lazy or not being prefects. Your Mum is simply afraid. She doesn't want you hurt. I mean, she has three family members already hurt because of V-Voldemort in the last years. Ginny, now your Dad and Ron got his fair share of broken bones and hospital visits too."

"Yeah, but she's still letting Bill and Charlie in," Fred huffed.

"I would like her to see trying to keep them out," Hermione grinned. "Bill and Charlie are both off-age, out of school and-" Hermione threw Fred a warning glance when he tried to interrupt, "-they both have incredibly dangerous jobs. Maybe your Mum is used to being worried about them and just wants to keep the rest of her children safe. Think about it, she wants ministry jobs for you because they're safe desk jobs with no danger of getting burned by a dragon or landing in prison in Egypt."

"Never thought about it like that," Fred sighed. He buried his face in his arms, resting his upper body on the table. "I mean, I know she's worried about all of us, but… It's just so frustrating, not to be able to do anything while half of my family is out there, fighting, getting hurt."

"Fred, is this about your dad?" Hermione asked, again softly. She had a feeling that Fred needed to be handled carefully right now. He wasn't himself. He seemed like a little boy, sitting in front of her worried about his family and pouting because his Mum forbid him from joining the grown-ups. And Hermione got it, she really did. It was frustrating and annoying that the Order didn't tell them anything - barely the basics, when they needed to - even though they were all already in the middle of it. With a very pained expression, Fred looked up to her.

"He almost died, Hermione, and there was nothing I could do. Sirius forced us to stay here, sit in the kitchen and wait for Mum. I never felt worse in my whole life and believe me, I had a lot of shitty days while testing products on myself." A lopsided smile tugged on Fred's lips but there was no real fire behind it. "I just want to be able to do something."

"Well, you're leaving Hogwarts in a few months and then there's nothing holding you back of joining the Order. I know, it's much to ask of you, but you just have to patient for a short while. Maybe make Umbridge's life miserable meanwhile?" Hermione grinned at Fred' shocked face.

"Hermione Granger, did you just ask me to prank the bloody hell out of the old toad?"

"Maybe?" Hermione offered Fred the plate full of sandwiches a second time and now he grabbed one. "But if you ever tell anyone I will deny it and give you detention. Have a reputation to uphold."

"Well, I take what I can get." Fred cheerfully bit into the sandwich and Hermione also started to eat hers again. They spent half an hour in the library together, chatting about all the prank ideas Fred had for Umbridge and emptying the plate.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The next days after Hermione's arrival at Grimmauld Place were wonderful and odd at the same time. Everyone was in an excellent mood now that Christmas arrived. They visited Mr Weasley at St. Mungos on Christmas morning which was a rowdy affair with so many people. Their mood was only slightly dampened by meeting Neville while he visited his parents with his grandmother. Hermione was shocked that she had never heard about this before and her heart ached for Neville. She couldn't imagine anything more painful than having parents who didn't remember you.

They spent Christmas Eve at Grimmauld Place with a wonderful dinner. Everything was loud and cheerful, every now and then some fireworks exploded - and Mrs Weasley didn't even scold the twins and Sirius - and Hermione decided that she had made a good decision with coming. Even though she felt guilty for lying to her parents, she still felt like these people were her family too. Especially the twins were worth it. George seemed to be absolutely thankful that Hermione had talked Fred out of his funk and Fred treated Hermione more warmly than ever.

On Christmas Eve Hermione made her way back to the room she shared with Ginny from the bathroom after brushing her teeth when she was suddenly stopped in the middle of her movement. It felt a bit like a stunning spell but with the difference that she was still able to move, just not able to leave this special place. Confused Hermione tried to make a step forward but she bounced back instantly. An annoyed huff escaped her. She was one hundred percent sure that this was a Weasley product from Fred and George. The question was, what did she need to break the spell?

"Blimey, Hermione, that wasn't meant for you. We wanted to catch Sirius," Fred rounded the corner, an apologetic frown on his face.

"And what exactly is this?" Hermione folded her arms in front of her chest. She was only in her pyjamas which were a gift from her parents and had, unfortunately, a little pattern made of snowmen on a bright red, plush fabric.

"Captivating mistletoe, trap your friends and family for a little holiday fun," Fred grinned and pointed to the ceiling. Curiously Hermione looked up and stared at the little, levitating mistletoe above her. Since the ceiling at Grimmauld Place was so high she hadn't seen it while coming out of the bathroom. And even if she had, she would have never thought that the blasted thing would trap her.

"Very funny," she rolled her eyes. "And now that you successfully found a way to even terrorise Christmas with your pranks, would you mind freeing me? I'm tired." Hermione tried to sound annoyed but a small smile tugged on her lips. She loved those little run-ins with Fred.

"Of course I will free you. But remember, you asked," Fred winked and a second later he stood right in front of Hermione, leaned down and then... the world stopped when Fred's warm lips pressed against hers.

Thank Merlin I brushed my teeth, Hermione thought before she finally realised that Fred Weasley was kissing her. He. Was. Kissing. Her. Right now. And Hermione was having a minor freak-out. Determined to enjoy the moment she shut her eyes and leaned into the kiss. Her heart started to break every racing record with its fast beating. Her stomach coiled almost painfully. But it was undoubtfully the best moment in her short life. Even though it was just a peck, it was the best kiss ever.

And then the kiss ended, too soon, and left Hermione with a longing for more. She wanted to pull Fred back to her but she was still too stunned to fully comprehend what just happened. She blinked confused while Fred grinned down at her, self-confident and seemingly unaffected by the kiss.

"Mistletoe trap which ends with a kiss should have known. And how exactly would you have freed Sirius?" Hermione asked while she blushed furiously. She was sure that her face and cleavage were as red as her pyjamas.

"Business secret," Fred winked. "Merry Christmas, Hermione, and goodnight." Then he walked off to the bathroom himself, whistling a bit on his way.

Hermione barely slept this night. Her mind was swirling with questions, the most prominent one being 'Why had Fred kissed her?'. In the last days, Hermione had gained something she had wished for since last year. A chance to get to know Fred better. And now that they were finally becoming friends, he kissed her. Out of the blue. But Hermione was also fighting with the question if she should tell Fred about their soul marks. Now seemed to be a good time. But maybe she needed some more information about soulmates to make up her mind. So Hermione did the one thing she always did when she was in doubt. She went to the library the next morning.

And the Blacks had a wonderful, large and well-sorted library. There Hermione hoped to find more books and information about soulmates in general. She had so many questions about this whole concept and the marks. Most of her classmates treated soulmates like it was the most normal thing in the world - which it probably was to them -, but none of them had really good knowledge about it. They all just accepted that the marks were there and that soulmates existed. But that wasn't enough for Hermione. She needed to know more.

But after three hours at the library, Hermione flopped down on one of the plush sofas and sighed in frustration. Even with the help of the finding aids - big books which contained the name, author and place of every book in the library - Hermione had found nothing on soulmates. She had opened a few promising books but after closer inspection, they all turned out to be a disappointment. Instead, she had found a frightening amount of books about dark arts.

"You should be careful, Hermione, who knows what nasty cursed my mother planted in this library." Sirius stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, and smiled at Hermione sadly. Since Hermione had arrived at Grimmauld Place she had noticed how deeply unhappy and restless Sirius was. He had been a delight during Christmas and the days prior, but now that the new school term got closer, his mood also changed. Back to the moody man he had been during the summer.

"Don't worry, I didn't find anything anyway," Hermione waved her hand at the small stack of books beside her.

"Really?" Sirius wrinkled his nose and walked towards. "What did you search? My father prided himself to have one of the best collections besides the libraries in Hogwarts and the Ministry."

"I wanted to research about soulmates," Hermione answered with a light blush. Somehow it felt embarrassing to admit that she had taken an interest in something so… girly?

"Ha," Sirius let out a barking laugh, not unlike a dog. "Well, you won't find anything about that here."

"Why is that? I thought it would be quite interesting to most witches and wizards."

"Yeah, but only to those who acknowledge soulmates as a real connection between two people. Most pureblood families rather like to ignore the soulmates and their own marks. They never actively try to find their own soulmates." Sirius frowned and his mind seemed to be somewhere far, far away.

"Sirius?" Hermione asked patiently after he hadn't talked for a few minutes.

"Oh, sorry," the man snapped out of his thoughts suddenly. "Unpleasant memories. Where was I? Ah, yes, purebloods don't care much for soulmates. Now, a bright witch like you surely wants to know why, and the reason is as simple as its stupid. You see, Hermione, every witch and wizard has a soul mark and therefore a soulmate. And there lies the problem. When everyone has it that means that everyone is the same. Equal."

"It means that purebloods aren't better than Muggleborns," Hermione whispered when realisation dawned.

"Smart girl," Sirius grinned. "You know, my mother always ranted on about how soulmates are only propaganda against purebloods. A sneaky attempt to try and pair us off with muggleborns and destroy pureblood society. My mother thought that the ministry wanted to mix us all in order to weaken the powerful old families. Of course, this is nonsense, but many purebloods still think like that. So they ignore their soul marks and soulmates because if they would search for their soulmate it would contain the danger of discovering something unpleasant."

"So, they're just ignoring the soul marks in order to maintain their blood purity? They sacrifice their own happiness for that?" Hermione asked in disbelief. She had always wondered why not everyone in the magical community was searching for their soulmate. She had always wondered why there were so many people not married to their soulmate when there was allegedly the perfect partner out there somewhere for you. And she had always wondered why the students of Hogwarts had no means to find their soulmate. It would be so easy to have a book with photos of the marks and everyone could search for their soulmate. The ministry could do something similar too. But now she understood.

It was a political decision, maintained by the old pureblood families. And with a large part of the community not willing to find their soulmate it made no sense for the rest to search. Because if your soulmate was a pureblood then your chances of finding him or her were almost zero. It was simply too frustrating to search a soulmate under these circumstances.

"You know, there are always exceptions. I have a cousin, her name is Andromeda, she's a few years older than me. When we grew up she was a well-behaved Black, like everyone expected. She was sorted into Slytherin and a lot of purebloods were interested in her. The day she left the family, it was shortly after her graduation, there was a family meeting. My uncle had planned to announce her engagement to some git but Andy had other plans. She loudly announced that she had found her soulmate and was going to marry him. You should have seen the face of my mother and uncle. The horror, the shock, the anger. They screamed at her, tried to threaten her, but Andy didn't sway. She had her things all packed up and left with not a second of hesitation. A week later the Prophet announced her marriage to muggleborn Ted Tonks and that was the day she was blasted from the family tapestry. Andromeda had always been my favourite cousin but after that, she became my personal hero." Sirius grinned at the memory. Hermione only stared at the finding aid in her hands. She didn't know what to make of this.

"Purebloods are stupid gits," Hermione finally murmured. The thought alone that someone decided against being with their soulmate just because of prejudice… In that very second, Hermione made the decision that she would tell Fred. Maybe he would laugh at her. Maybe he would not. But she would risk it.

"Sirius, how can you be sure that someone is your soulmate?" Hermione asked shyly.

"Easy, when the mark changes the second time. The first time is when soulmates touch each other. It's a bit unreliable but it helps sometimes. But the second time, well that's the important one. The mark only changes when both soulmates have seen each other's mark." Sirius grinned. "For reasons, I don't want to explain right now, James saw Lily's mark sometime during our second year. But the sappy git wanted to woo her properly before telling her. Well, when they finally started to date he chickened out again and again. So Remus and I ripped James off his shirt in the middle of the common room one day, so that Lily could see it. It was the most hilarious thing ever to seem them both blush while his soul mark changed. Lily almost ripped his head off for not telling her."

"So, it only changes when both have seen it but they don't have to see it at the same time? That's pretty unreliable too," Hermione huffed.

"Well, destiny doesn't like to be reliable or predictable, love." Sirius winked. "So, who is your soulmate?"

"Um," Hermione felt how her cheeks heated up.

"So, it's someone I know. Not Harry, maybe Ron?" Hermione shook her head vigorously. Sirius made a little humming noise. Hermione tried to show a blank face but the littlest twitch seemed to tell Sirius everything.

"Older, but not much? Ah yes, still a student? Aha, and I know him… Is it a boy? It is," Sirius grinned wolfishly. "Older boy still at school and I know him. Well, seeing as I don't know that many people, why don't you just tell me which of the twins it is?" Hermione glared at him, contemplating if she should deny everything. But seeing as she already made the decision to tell Fred, it was maybe good to get another opinion.

"You couldn't possibly have guessed it just like that," she huffed.

"No, I didn't. I saw you staring at them during breakfast," Sirius laughed again. "But I couldn't see which one of them you were staring at." Hermione blushed again when she remembered how she had stared at Fred during breakfast unwillingly. After her sleepless night, she had tried to get some kind of reaction from him. To see if the kiss had affected him at all. But Fred and George had joked as always and Hermione was none the wiser. Now her lips tingled again from the memory of the kiss.

"It's Fred," she finally admitted. Sirius let out a whistle but not in a mocking way.

"Pranking delinquent and muggleborn bookworm, quite a good combination if you ask me," he smiled warmly and the warmth spread through Hermione immediately.

"You don't think it's stupid? An unlikely match? We're so different…"

"Yeah, as were James and Lily. Being soulmates isn't about being similar or always having the same opinion, it's about completing each other. And for that you need differences." Without thinking about it Hermione crashed herself into Sirius' chest and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," Hermione whispered into his robes. "That's exactly what I needed. I think I'm going to tell him now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The slow burn will now take up a bit but we still need some time before everything is on fire. Until then you can fuel me by leaving reviews ;)


	23. Making A deal (Part I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Chapter everyone :D Leave me some sugar if you want to make me happy ;)

Taking a deep breath Hermione walked down to the room of the twins, hoping that she could catch Fred alone. She had no clue how she could get rid of George if he was there. Her nerves were already getting to her. A thousand possible scenarios flitted through her mind as she approached the door. Determined she knocked, hard and loud. She waited a minute but no one answered, even though Hermione could hear voices and shuffling from behind the door. She knocked again. Again no one answered. Taking a deep breath Hermione decided to just go in. She wouldn't chicken out now.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" The voice of George sounded through the room like a gunshot and made Hermione take a step back. For a moment she thought he was talking to her but then she recognised the situation. Fred and George were standing in front of each other, both red-faced and huffing angrily. And apparently, they hadn't seen her yet.

"I really don't know what your problem is! If you would just talk to-," Fred yelled back but was interrupted by George instantly.

"You're my problem. You're behaving like a bloody prat and you know it. Don't think I don't know why you're doing this. I'm not stupid! I'm your bloody twin; I know exactly what you're doing. And it's your constant denial that ticks me off!" George yelled back.

"Guys?" Hermione briskly intervened. "Care to explain what's going on?" Fred and George's heads whipped around, wide eyes looking down at Hermione with confused and angry gazes.

"Fred here is behaving like git but that's no news to you, isn't it?" George growled while Fred rolled his eyes.

"George is a major drama queen. And he's chickening out of talking to An-"

"Don't even..." George hissed. "That's not the point right now."

"It is! You two have to talk; it's just stupid. Go and get your happy ever after, you bloody prat!" Fred's face turned an even deeper red. Suddenly he turned and walked towards Hermione.

"Sorry, Hermione, do you mind?" Softly he pushed Hermione aside so that he could leave the room. Hermione guessed that he would've slammed the door behind him in his anger if she hadn't been there. For a moment Hermione thought about following Fred, but it seemed like he needed a few minutes to cool off. Surprising him right away with the new that they were soulmates would surely not get Hermione the reaction she was hoping for.

"George? What's going on?" Hermione asked after a minute, which George spent with staring angrily at the door.

"That's going on," George pushed up his jumper and revealed a colourful soul mark on his right hip. It was a deep pink rose in full flower. Stunned Hermione stared at the mark and at George's pained expression.

"It's Angelina," George muttered so quietly, Hermione almost didn't hear him.

"Oh," Hermione tried to say something but failed miserably. She knew about George's feelings for Angelina but at the same time, Angelina was Fred's ex and… She wanted to congratulate George for finding his soulmate but evidently, it wasn't a happy thing, at least not right now.

"Yes, oh… I messed up, Hermione. Fred is pretty angry with me, but he won't admit it...," George slumped down on the bed, his head in his hands. "They broke up because of me. Because of this. And now Fred is shagging half of Hogwarts to convince me that he's fine and that I should get together with Angie. He's such a bloody prat."

"You think he's behaving this way to prove he's… not hurt? But in reality, he is hurt, he just doesn't want to show so no one will pity him?" Hermione thought out loud but actually, she didn't want to know, not really. She didn't want to hear that Fred was still hung up on Angelina.

"Granger, you said it yourself before the holidays. Fred's not dealing with this break-up in a healthy way. And he doesn't want to talk with me," George sighed. For a moment they sat in silence.

"So, Angelina?" Hermione tried to sound innocent, but George snorted at her.

"Don't even pretend, Granger. I may have been damn smashed on my 17th birthday but I remember well enough what I confessed to you and Ginny. I'm actually rather surprised that you and my nosy little sister never tried to grill me for more information. Thought for sure that the Spanish Inquisition would descend upon me." Hermione raised an eyebrow and chuckled at that.

"How do you know of the Spanish Inquisition?"

"I do pay attention in class sometimes," George grinned. "And actually I like Muggle studies."

"Got that from your Dad, don't you?" Hermione and George both snorted a laugh.

"Please, don't remind me. If I ever start to tinker with Muggle objects, please, hex me," George groaned good-heartedly. Hermione knew he was only joking. All of the Weasley children loved their Dad even though he was nuts for Muggle artefacts. For a moment they both laughed, an easy atmosphere around them.

"Well, you have to thank me that Ginny left you alone after your birthday. I prevented her from a) beating Fred green and blue for breaking your heart and b) from trying to talk to you about it. Was quite a bit of work but I convinced Ginny in the end." Hermione winked. "I thought you wouldn't remember because you were so drunk and wanted to spare you an uncomfortable conversation with your baby sister."

"Pray tell, how did you do that? Once Ginny has a goal in mind, it's not easy to get her off it. Need to know the trick for future occurrences." George joked back but the nice lightness vanished for Hermione. Now they were unfortunately back to the topic of Fred and Angelina.

"Oh, that…" Hermione blushed. "Umm, I might have heard you and Fred talking about… that Angelina is Fred's soulmate. I told Ginny and it shut her up pretty quickly. And she didn't want to hurt you by mentioning it, I think." George buried his face in his hands, stifling a defeated groan. "But now that I think about it. How the hell did you two get that mixed up?" Hermione asked, nudging George slightly. She somehow had the feeling that both twins had never talked about this whole affair properly.

"My fault," George sighed. "I got it mixed up or maybe I didn't see it well enough or maybe it was just my mind telling me that I could never be lucky enough to actually have the woman of my dreams as my soulmate."

"Go on," Hermione nodded softly.

"I saw Angie's mark during our fifth year. I was preparing a prank in the Quidditch shower rooms and…" George's ear coloured a deep pink. "Well, I saw the mark but obviously not well enough. When Fred's and my soul marks were still both black, they were almost identical. But Fred's has these… you know those green leave around the bud which open?" George waved his hands while he searched the right word.

"They're called sepals," Hermione nodded.

"Yeah, exactly. Fred's mark has those, his is still black, but you can see that they're there. They look different from the other petals. Mine is just the flower." George showed his mark again and now Hermione saw the difference. Her own mark was also almost identical to George's but as he had said, hers had little sepals behind the flower petals. Hermione knew because her mother was a passionate gardener and loved flowers. On more than on occasion, her mother had examined her mark and explained to Hermione how the different parts were called.

"Well, I thought I saw those sepals on Angie's mark back then and told Fred. He was a bit hesitant first, didn't want to hurt me. He knew I fancied Angie a bit back then," Hermione snorted. "Yeah okay, I fancied her a lot and still do. But Fred is my twin, I love him, and I wanted him happy. Even if it would make me miserable. It took me a while to convince Fred to ask her for a date, he finally agreed after a year or so, when he took her to the Yule Ball." George sighed again heavy. "And they kind of got closer. I thought it would help me get over Angie if they got together. "

"And how did that work out for you?" Hermione asked, well aware that seeing Fred with Angelina had hurt her immensely and only dating Viktor had helped for a while to keep her mind off the pain. George seems to think the same as he sighed again.

"Not so good, but they were damn happy after they finally managed to hitch up."

"How did you find out about this then," Hermione pointed at George's stomach.

"I'm not really sure what happened beforehand but one evening I came back from the shower and Fred and Angelina were fighting, I had no shirt on and…" George shrugged like it was obvious and Hermione remembered what Sirius had said. As soon as both saw each other's mark…

"Angelina saw your mark. And since you already saw hers..."

"They both changed colours immediate, yes. You should have seen her face, Angie was mortified." George's voice was thick, and Hermione purposefully didn't look at him. She somehow thought that the funny and laid back George didn't want her pity. "She stormed out, and I think that was actually the last time Fred spoke to her. Just like that, they both accepted their break-up and since then they are ignoring each other."

Hermione remembered how Angelina and Fred had avoided each other since the break-up. How Fred tried to put up a façade of being fine and Angelina always seemed awkward while seeing him. But now Hermione also remembered how Angelina had not only avoided Fred but also George. And probably not because he was Fred's brother like Hermione had thought before, but because she was as awkward around him as she was around Fred. Hermione's heart broke a little as she thought about this ridiculous situation which hurt three people at the same time.

"I'm so sorry, George, that's surely not an easy situation for you," Hermione gave George a half-sided hug. He rested his chin on top of her head.

"No, it isn't. But the worst is that Fred doesn't want to talk with me about it. I thought we would do it during the holidays, while we are away from Hogwarts, but then Dad got hurt and… Now he's avoiding talking about it again." They sat there for a while when George suddenly turned towards Hermione. "Would you talk to him? Last time it really helped to get him out of his funk."

"Sure, I actually have something I want to talk about with Fred, and I think that conversation will lead us on to it anyway," Hermione sighed. Her conversation with Fred had gotten a lot more complicated but it was necessary. She needed to get over with it. She needed to tell him. She wanted to tell him.

And so - again - Hermione started to search for Fred. This time she found him not in the library, but in Buckbeak's room. Apparently, this was the official sulking room in the house, as Harry and Sirius had proved over the holidays. Now Fred was also sulking while stroking the soft feathers of Buckbeak.

"Fred?" Hermione asked softly, but he jumped up a bit, nonetheless. Buckbeak only looked up with a bored expression.

"Hey Hermione, smashing to see you," Fred tried a smile but Hermione's serious expression stopped him.

"Can I come in?" Fred nodded and Hermione sat down on the floor, her back against the wall. After a silent minute of staring at each other Fred finally sat down beside her.

"Want to talk about it?" Hermione tried and Fred eyed her suspiciously. "The fight with George, I mean, you seemed pretty upset."

"That's what you want to talk about? Would have thought you wanted to talk about something else." Fred grinned, pretending to be as confident as ever. Hermione willed the blush down but the heat still crept over her skin and left her with goosebumps as she remembered the kiss again. Soft and warm and perfect.

"Don't try to change the topic," Hermione hit him on the shoulder playfully. "I just talked to George, and he asked me to talk to you. You know, I'm doing this only once. I had enough of being an owl when Harry and Ron weren't talking to each other last year."

"Oh, did George tell you about?" Fred asked slowly like he needed to weight every word carefully. Hermione nodded.

"He told me about Angelina and the mark and why you broke up. But there are a few things George doesn't understand," she said and saw how Fred blanched a bit. He leaned his head against the wall and stared at the ceiling for a while. Hermione decided to stay silent. Sometimes you had to endure silence to give the other the space to talk.

"Merlin, I don't even know where to start." Fred finally said, ruffling his hair till it pointed in every possible direction.

"At the beginning is often the best," Hermione smiled.

"But that's the thing. I don't know where this mess started." Fred groaned. "Did it start when George fell in love with Angelina during our third year? Or did it start when he made this bloody stupid mistake to think she was my soulmate? Or did it start when Angelina and I got together?" He sighed deeply.

"Well, let's start with how you got together with Angelina. George said that he needed to convince you?" Hermione asked as innocently as possible. She wished she could say that all she wanted to do was help Fred. But of course, she had some ulterior motives. She wanted to check if Fred was still in love with Angelina.

"George was so damn sure she was my soulmate," Fred whispered, more to himself as to Hermione. "He tried to convince me for months. Always told me what a good couple Angelina and I would be because we're both outgoing and confident. He started pointing out how good we got along. And he gave me those meaningful gazes whenever Angelina and I were talking. I swear, it almost drove me mad. To me, Angelina was never more than a good friend, the girl, my twin liked. Someone I felt protective of. I started to think differently after this one Quidditch match during our fifth year. You know, the one against Slytherin? We won and got the Quidditch Cup." Hermione nodded. She remembered the game and how she had felt slightly uncomfortable with seeing Fred and Angelina laughing together. She almost groaned when she realised that she had been in love with Fred for longer than she had realised herself.

"Flint knocked Angelina almost off her broom during the game and I was so angry and furious… I thought I felt that way, so protective because Angelina was my soulmate. That's when I started to think that maybe I should give the whole idea a chance. That maybe I would fall in love with Angelina if I just tried hard enough."

"But you didn't?"

"For a while, I thought it worked. We had so much fun at the Yule Ball together and everything seemed always easy with Angelina. We are similar in that way. We like to have fun and are laid-back; we never fought about anything. And for a while, I thought that was because we were destined to be together but… Mum and Dad are soulmates, and they fight all the time. Maybe Angelina and I are a bit too similar to really be a good couple. I have some feelings for her, but I think I mainly forced myself into having them," Fred sighed. "I sound like the biggest idiot on earth."

"But George told me you were fighting when he came in and the three of you discovered… well," Hermione tried not to pry too much, but she watched curiously how Fred's ears, face and neck blushed a deep, sunset red.

"That was… yeah, really stupid. We were, we wanted," he took a deep breath. "Angelina's mark is in a very private place," Fred pointed vaguely on Hermione's chest at a spot somewhere between her breasts. His face was bright red by now and Hermione too felt her skin heat up. "We, well… we were about to… take the next step?" Fred groaned again, now even more frustrated. "Bloody hell, Hermione, I almost had sex with my twin's soulmate. But then I saw her mark and she saw mine and... they didn't change. That's when I realised the mistake and… I ran."

"Fred…"

"Yeah, I know, I know. I'm a bloody tosser. I ran away as soon as it hit me. I left Angelina alone, without explaining anything, I just needed to get away. Of course, Angelina isn't the type to sit around and wait and cry when a guy treats her like shit. She stormed our dormitory only minutes later. Merlin, she was bloody angry and I thought she would kill me. I think I got a permanent hearing impairment from her yelling. And then George came out of the bathroom. In. Only. His. Shorts. Bare Chest and all. Confused and blushing and having no idea what was going on. And then…" He let the sentence unfinished, but Hermione already knew.

"You should have seen their faces when it happened. George blanched and for a minute I thought he would faint. And Angelina, well, she turned absolutely silent. I swear I never saw her so… so motionless and quiet and… She only looked at me and asked if that was why I ran. I couldn't even answer her, seeing it was really… overwhelming. I nodded and she said 'Well, that probably means we're over, right?' And that was it. Quite the story, isn't it?"

"Okay, so let me sum this up. George pushed you to get together with Angelina, you felt obliged to fall in love with her and now that you discovered it was all a mistake, you think you weren't in love with her." Hermione slowly massaged her temples. This was getting more and more confusing with every passing second. "And how do your little affairs fit in with that? Because till now Ginny and I thought you were trying to hurt Angelina on purpose." She narrowed her eyes at him at the memory of how angry Alicia had been on behalf of her friend.

"What? No!" Fred almost shouted. "I didn't try to hurt her. I just wanted to… George doesn't want to talk to Angelina because he thinks it will hurt me. He doesn't want to pursue a relationship with her because of me. But I don't want him to feel guilty so I thought that showing him that I'm fine by dating other girls."

"I wouldn't call meeting a new girl every night in dark classrooms dating," Hermione snorted. "Do you even know how many girls you dated in the last weeks?" At this Fred had the decency to blush.

"Probably less than you think," he muttered. "And I shagged even less. To be honest, it was mostly just snogging and pretending to be inappropriate. I wanted to get caught by Ron because I was sure he would tell George. Put on a bit of a show for him."

"Well, as reasonable as this sounds, I think your logic failed you with one critical factor," Hermione stated primly, pretending that she hadn't been the one to catch Fred most of the times and been hurt again and again and again. She felt her blood boil when Fred threw her a confused gaze.

"Angelina. You might have tried to convince George to date her but did you think for one minute about what she would want? Maybe she doesn't want to date George right away. Maybe she will never. It seems like it was pretty easy for you to forget your feelings for her since you weren't really in love as you said. But what about Angelina? Maybe she still has feelings for you and maybe that's the reason George doesn't want to approach her?" Hermione breathed heavy after her small rant, catching Fred's shocked expression.

"I never thought about it," he admitted. "I just assumed that Angelina would feel the same as me. I mean, we're not soulmates. Her feelings for me couldn't be that deep." Hermione raised an eyebrow at that. "Okay, okay, maybe I was just an enormous prat and didn't think this through. You think she will forgive if I allow her to hex me for a few hours?"

"I think Alicia will want to join in," Hermione joked, hoping to diffuse the tension a bit. "Do you really think you're doing George a favour by pushing them together like this?"

"George did the same for me. Regardless of his own feelings, he pushed me again and again because he thought it would make me happy in the end. Of course, it was bloody stupid but we were stupid boys. And now... now I just feel terribly guilty for getting together with Ange in the first place. Hermione, George did it for me when we thought Angeline was my soulmate. He wanted me happy and swallowed his own feelings. I need to do it for him too. I need to help him to be happy, and Angie will make him happy. He loves her; I know it. He loved her since he met her even though he only realised it during our third year. I need to help him as he helped me." Fred's voice was a pleading whisper now and Hermione finally understood what had driven Fred since his break-up from Angelina.

It was guilt. Guilt because he had given in and dated a woman his twin brother loved. Guilt because he had hurt his brother - even though George had pushed Fred to be together with Angelina. It was a terrible and hurtful situation, and Hermione felt a heavy weight on her heart. She couldn't even imagine how hard the last weeks had been for Fred and George. Both battling their own worries.

"You have to tell George all of this," Hermione urged. "He needs to hear it and you need to say it."

"I know, I just don't know how," Fred admitted.

"Maybe you don't need to know what exactly you want to say. I think it's enough to start the conversation. You're brothers, twins, you will find the right words when it's time."

"Maybe," Fred sighed and then did something unexpected. He leaned against Hermione, letting his head rest against her shoulder. It should have been impossible for the lanky ginger to lean into her like that but it worked. Hermione felt a familiar, nervous flutter run through her internal organs and her skin prickled.

"Thanks, Hermione, you really are a good friend."

"Well, I try," Hermione muttered. Instantly she felt her resolve to finally tell Fred the truth vanish. Was it fair to tell him right now? He had so many other things going on. It would only add to the things he had to worry about. But Hermione didn't want to give up like that. She was a Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake.

"Fred, why did you kiss me yesterday?" The words were out before Hermione could ask herself if it was a good idea. It was the second best she could think of. If she didn't tell him about the soul mark than at least she could ask about the kiss.

"The truth?" Fred asked with a wink.

"No, lie to me," Hermione replied dryly and a smirk graced Fred's lips. She knew he liked it when people were able to counter. But then the smirk vanished.

"Honestly, I don't know," he wrinkled his nose like he just had this realisation. "It was just in the spur of the moment. It's true, we wanted to catch Sirius. But of course, there is a counterspell. I just… didn't use it? You just looked kissable."

"That's the most unsatisfying answer I ever got," Hermione snorted. "And I'm the one quizzing Ron before exams." She added but Fred only shrugged.

"I take offence in the comparison, but I can't tell you more. Are you angry?"

"I… don't know. You didn't do it to prove something to George? Or because you had withdrawal symptoms and I was the only female around, you're not related to?"

"No and no," Fred laughed. "But maybe I should take the time and think about it. So I can give you a better answer?" Hermione hummed a bit as she thought about this new information. She glanced at Fred, who still had his head on her shoulder and decided that she didn't need to tell him today.

"You know what, I think you should see the good in this. Your own soulmate is still out there and you have the chance to meet them," Hermione suggested in a timid voice. She knew this was dangerous territory. If she wasn't careful right now than all could go downhill very fast.

"I don't know if I'm ready to fall in love right now," Fred exhaled and his warm breath tickled Hermione's skin.

"You're so sure it will be a girl? Could be a boy, a platonic soulmate?"

"Hermione, if I was destined to have a platonic soulmate than it would have been George. But since we aren't, and believe me that was a major disappointment when we turned eleven, I'm absolutely sure that it will be a woman."

"Sounds logical," Hermione nodded and Fred grumbled when the movement disturbed his apparently comfortable position. "Promise me something? When you know why you kissed me, will you tell me? I hate not knowing things. "

"Deal," Hermione felt Fred's grin.

"Deal, and who knows. I might even tell you a secret myself," she snickered. This moment Hermione made a deal with herself. Now that she knew that Fred wasn't really in love with Angelina, or at least not heartbroken hung up on her, nothing was hindering her to flirt with him. To make him aware that she was a girl too. He had already kissed her out of a whim that had to mean something. Maybe he was attracted to her and just hadn't realised himself? Hadn't it been like that for Hermione herself? It had taken her an eternity to realise why she always felt weird around Fred. Now it was his turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sad to inform you all that I only have one chapter pre-written and after that you have to wait as long as all the poor sods from FF for a new one...^^ But I'm working hard on getting it ready as soon as I can.


	24. Making A Deal (Part II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My darlings, here is a looong chapter for you. I want to thank everyone who commented or gave kudos :) it really helps to see what you all think about this story.

Fred had stopped hooking up with girls, or at least it seemed so. Hermione couldn't be completely sure but since they had arrived back at school two weeks ago she hadn't caught the prankster with a girl. George and Fred also seemed more at ease with each other than ever and were back to terrorising the castle. Hermione still scolded them but internally she was glad that the twins had hashed out their misunderstandings.

Angelina was still tiptoeing around Fred and George but now Hermione could see that the older girl was eyeing not only Fred warily but also George. Angelina's eyes always held a mixture of sadness, fear and hope. It seemed like the chaser was for once not willing or able to be brave and straightforward and instead waited for one of the twins to break the ice. But unfortunately, there was no change in sight between those three. Hermione always watched them carefully and recognised how George was avoiding Angelina with a slight blush while Fred always looked like he felt incredibly guilty. It was still complicated. Hermione swore that she would knock some sense into the three of them if they didn't get their act together till the end of the school year.

For now, however, Hermione was occupied with trying to woo Fred. Unfortunately, that wasn't an easy task. The redhead seemed oblivious to everything Hermione said and did. And she had tried a lot of things.

She had started to sit near Fred at every meal in order to strike a conversation with him. But since Ron and Harry were also always there, her efforts weren't recognised. Hermione also tried to sit close to Fred in the common room, hoping for a moment to flirt or something… she didn't really know what she was hoping or waiting for. A chance. A moment to change their relationship. But more and more she realised that her strategy was maybe a bit flawed. Essentially, she had no idea what she was doing.

"Come on, let's sit over there," Hermione pulled Ginny away from her brothers and Harry to the opposite part of the common room. With a curious glance, Ginny followed her and they sank down on a plush sofa.

"I feel like a stalker," Hermione sighed before Ginny had the chance to ask. After the last two weeks of following Fred around like a love-sick puppy, she had enough. It had no effect on Fred and Hermione felt like she made a fool out of herself.

"Maybe you need to change your strategy. Instead of always being around, you could try to stay away from him. Maybe he will realise it and seek you out?"

"Nah, I don't think so. I avoided Fred the last few years enough to know that he won't even notice. Avoiding and ignoring would only work if we already had… something."

"Well, then how about being more straightforward?"

"You mean more straightforward than sitting with him at every meal?" Hermione let out a frustrated snort.

"But you're barely doing anything! I mean, you're trying to talk to him whenever possible but you still behave like before. You still talk to him like he's your best friend's older brother and not a boy you're interested in. You have to show your interest more clearly!" Ginny exclaimed. Hermione wanted to protest but instead took a minute to think about it.

She had never been the one to try to flirt first. Viktor had - in his own clumsy and shy way - made the first step in most aspects of their brief relationship. He had made the effort to talk to her, invite her to the ball, and listen to her interest. In addition, he had brought her the book she had searched. All very clear signs of him being interested in her. Now Hermione had to do the same and she had to admit that it was harder than she had thought.

"You're probably right but I don't know how to do that," Hermione sighed and snuggled deeper into the couch.

"I don't think you have to do much. You just need to relax and be yourself." Ginny winked. "You two are soulmates so the chances that Fred will notice you if you're yourself are good. Even more now that Angelina is out of the way. Just be a bit… braver."

"How is it going with Michael?" Hermione finally asked to change the topic while Ginny was playing with Crookshanks. The ginger just shrugged.

"Good, I think. We didn't write over the holidays but now that we're back at school everything is back to normal. We're in the library pretty often with his friends." Ginny seemed absentminded but Hermione didn't push her. She knew Ginny sometimes needed a moment to sort out her minds and say the right thing. "I'm not sure it's working, you know. The whole dating someone different. Michael is nice and everything but there is no spark between us. I like kissing him, it's pleasant but it's just… not enough."

"I know what you mean. It was the same for me with Viktor." Hermione admitted. "You know, Harry asked Cho for a date on the next Hogsmeade weekend. It's on Valentine's Day." She added. Hermione didn't know why but she felt that it was always best to tell Ginny things like this straight ahead.

"I know, I heard him talk about it with Ron," Ginny finally let Crooks go and leaned back. "I'm an idiot. Michael doesn't make me happy and I think it would be best to break up. I will never get over Harry when I'm in an unhappy relationship. But I don't want to hurt Michael either. I hate this. Life was definitely more relaxed and easy before this whole boys and love thing started."

"Amen," Hermione muttered which earned her a confused expression from Ginny. Laughing she was just about to start to explain the muggleism when a tearstained Lavender stormed into the common room and up to the girls' dorm. Parvati came in seconds later, a deep frown on her face.

"Parvati!" Hermione called after her and the girl stopped by their sofa. "What's going on? Is Lavender okay?"

"Seamus broke up with her," Parvati muttered darkly. "She was visiting his family over the holidays and apparently his mum insulted Harry and Dumbledore. Lavender kept quiet but they fought about it since being back at Hogwarts. Lavender was defending Harry while Seamus always insists that he would only believe him if Harry finally told everyone what happened inside the maze. Seems like Seamus snapped and broke it off when they were fighting today." She sighed. "Lavender is equally angry and heartbroken so prepare for her being in a mood the next few weeks." With a shrug, she also went to the girls' dorm while Hermione and Ginny watched her with wide eyes.

"Merlin, it will be a nightmare living with Lavender," Hermione ruffled her hair. She remembered vividly how sickly in love Lavender had been with Seamus ever since the Yule Ball. The blonde surely was heartbroken but unfortunately Lavender tended to be a right bitch when she was angry or sad. Hermione didn't envy Parvati for having to put up with it.

"You know, sometimes I think it would be better if Harry told his story." Ginny stared at her fingernails, a slight blush on her cheeks like she was ashamed for even mentioning it.

"Sometimes I think so too. But he doesn't want to… or maybe he's too traumatised to talk about. Either way, we can't force him. He has to make the decision for himself." Hermione bit her lip. She had thought about this too. People were believing the lies in the Daily Prophet because there were only a few who knew the truth right from Harry. But Hermione knew better than to push Harry. And even if he was willing, who would listen to him?

The day before the Prophet had reported the massive break-out of former Death Eaters which prompted Umbridge to get a new educational decree out, forbidding teachers to give students information outside from classes. It was frustrating. Slowly, step after step, Umbridge took over every aspect of their school life and outside from the DA meetings Hermione had no idea how to fight against it without getting expelled or imprisoned.

Deep in thought, Hermione watched how Fred and George tossed some fireworks to each other while Ron and Harry counted how many times they managed before they went off. On any other day Hermione would have scolded them but tonight she wasn't in the mood. She still had no idea how she could change her behaviour around Fred while staying herself.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione was on her way back to Gryffindor Tower after her prefect rounds when she found herself in front of a picture of a very thin, noble-looking witch who eyed Hermione from above. Somehow, she felt like she should know this place and after a few seconds, it finally clicked. It was the picture Fred and George vanished behind a few weeks before the Christmas holidays when they had been on the run from Filch.

"What do you want?" The women asked all high and mighty, and for a moment, Hermione thought that it was remarkable that such a picture was willing to help the twins. But it was even more remarkable that they had figured out the password.

"Are the Weasley twins still using the room behind your picture?" Hermione asked without a real hope that the snobby lady would help her. And as predicted the woman just smiled cruelly.

"Like I would tell you." Hermione narrowed her eyes at the picture and thought that it could actually be one of Malfoy's ancestors, with her arrogant attitude. Someone from such an old pureblood family like Draco Malfoy surely had some relatives hanging as pictures in Hogwarts.

Hermione was about to turn away in defeat when George rounded the corner and stopped with wide eyes at the sight of her.

"Granger, really nice to see you. Wonderful evening, isn't it? Aren't you out a bit late? Its curfew soon," he tried a nonchalant grin but Hermione could see that it unnerved him to see her in front of their secret room. There was a visible twitch in one of his eyelids. A little smirk crept on Hermione's face.

"Well, you could accompany me back to the common room like a real gentleman," she teased and for a moment George seemed shocked. But then this unnerving Weasley twin smile lightened up his face and Hermione could almost see the sassy comment forming in his head.

"Show us the way my sweets," an excited voice suddenly sounded from behind them. "Don't worry, High Inquisitor, Mrs Norris will find all troublemakers out after curfew."

Filch and Umbridge! With wide eyes, Hermione and George starred at each other. Hermione felt herself panicking. She could easily talk her way out of trouble by saying she was on her way back from her rounds. But George had no reason to be out. And Filch already hated him, Umbridge too probably.

"Marauder's den," George hastily muttered to the picture and with a small frown the lady opened up. "Quick, get inside, Granger." He ushered Hermione into the room.

The sight took her breath away. The room had roughly the size of a classroom but was furnished like a common room. There were soft armchairs and couches, a fireplace and some bookshelves. But someone had pushed all the chairs and couches into one half of the room. The other half was occupied by one very large and long table. There were nine or ten cauldrons bubbling on the table, ingredients were stored in two shelves - the books piled on one of the sofas - and there were several stacks of boxed Weasley products.

Fred was leaning over a bubbling cauldron, skimming through a book and obviously in deep thought.

"Good, you're finally here," Fred muttered. "I think we can try and add the Murtlap essence now. Should help with the side effects." Fred noted something in the book and Hermione guessed it was their personal potions book to record their experiments.

For a second Hermione was frozen. Overwhelmed with seeing the twin's personal workroom and with the new situation of being alone with the two of them. But then it occurred her. This was it! This was the moment - the chance - she had hoped and waited for.

Just be brave.

"Murtlap? I think I know who you have to thank for this idea," Hermione stated and with satisfaction, she watched how Fred jumped up. With wide eyes, he stared at Hermione.

"So, what are you working on?" Hermione rounded the table, ignoring the confused look on Fred's face, and looked into the cauldron. A red, thick liquid was shimmering there. It looked awfully like blood and Hermione wasn't sure if she really wanted to know what kind of ingredients created this look.

"New batch of nosebleed nougat," George answered from the door, completely at ease. Hermione saw from the corner of her eye that he was storing something away but she didn't even try to ask. It was probably something illegal - or obtained illegally - and she knew she would only get jokes and cheeky comments for an answer.

"The antidote for it," Fred corrected, still staring at her like she had grown fur or horns. "We had a few problems with the side effect of the antidote and hope the Murtlap essence will prevent that."

"What side effect?"

"Boils," both twins answered in unison and blushed. "And not in a good place." Hermione hummed in understanding.

"Shouldn't you stir that? Before it burns?" Hermione asked Fred, who jumped slightly and then started to stir again, side-eyeing her the whole time. A few minutes went in silence while Fred stirred and George prepared the Murtlap essence. Hermione meanwhile was strolling through the room, looking at the boxed products and the vast amount of ingredients. It looked like the twins were closer to having their dream of an own shop come true than Hermione had thought. She had never doubted that Fred and George would be successful but this looked like they only lacked a salesroom.

As she came back to the big table, she saw that Fred was still staring at her nervously.

"Honestly, you would think I'm some kind of monster, the way you are behaving. I'm not going to bite your head off," Hermione finally snorted, fed up with his unusual silence and staring.

"No, that's not it," Fred blushed again and George snickered amused. "It's just, why are you here? Or the better question would be," he turned to his twin, "why did you let her inside?" The glare in Fred's eyes was playful and George just shrugged with a smirk.

"The toad and Filch were outside, searching for students out after curfew. There wasn't enough time to get back to the common room and I couldn't leave her alone outside, right? Don't worry, I'm sure Granger will be so grateful for my heroic act of saving her from horrible detention and not try to take points from us. Or give us detentions," he winked. "Right, Granger?"

"Well, I would be if I had needed your saving. You're aware that I'm a prefect, right? I'm allowed to be out after curfew if I have rounds," Hermione answered easily while she opened a potions book on the table.

"The thought counts?" George offered.

"I suppose I will let you off this time." Hermione grinned, winking at both of the twins. It was the first time she had ever tried something close to flirting and it had an interesting effect. While George just laughed at her comment, Fred's mouth opened slightly in surprise.

"Hermione Granger not giving us detention or docking points? Who are you and what did you do with the real Hermione Granger?" He asked with a slight tint of teasing in his voice.

"If you complain about it, I can still punish you," Hermione growled jokingly. "But maybe you're secretly into that kind of stuff. Wouldn't surprise me regarding how often you get into trouble. Like the punishments?" At this, Fred laughed loudly.

"Maybe she really is an imposter," George snickered.

"Nah, I think we're good. And not really into that kind of stuff," Fred teased. "But since you're already here, why don't you help us with this?" He gestured to the cauldron. "I'm sure your ability to recite every book in the library will be of great use for us. Or is Miss-perfect-Prefect afraid of breaking the rules?"

"So, you believe my brilliance is only rooted in my ability to actually memorise and remember things?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at Fred, who looked slightly alarmed. "Well, let me do what I can do best: prove Weasley men wrong." She grinned and stepped beside him, taking the long stirring rod from his hand and snatched the self-made potions book from the table.

"Let's see," and without further discussion, Hermione and the twins started to complete the potion. They bickered a lot, teased each other and Hermione asked a lot of questions about their products which amused the twins to no end. Of course, they didn't tell her a thing about their products, always referring to the importance of business secrets.

"Okay," George scooped one of the finished bonbons from the table. "Miss Granger, want to have the honour of testing it first? Just take the nose bleeding nougat first." With a grin, he offered Hermione the sweet.

"Ha, as if I would volunteer to test one of your products." Hermione folded her arms in front of her. Helping with the production was one thing, but testing was where she drew the line. "Not so long ago you two tried to convince me that it's safe to give your products to innocent first years because you test them on yourselves. Well, show me your excellent, foolproof testing methods." The challenge was evident and both twins smirked.

"Age before beauty," Fred winked and swallowed the nougat. Half a minute later his nose started bleeding and it actually looked like he urgently needed a healer.

"Looks good," George commented and scribbled something down. "Bloody enough to get one out of classes but not as extreme as in the beginning. How do you feel?"

"Good, besides the disgusting feeling of having blood running down my face." Quickly Fred swallowed the antidote and after two minutes the bleeding stopped completely. Fred and George both cried a loud Whoop in celebration and laughed like maniacs.

"Seems like we're ready for mass production!"

"We have to celebrate!" George grinned. "How about I get us something from the kitchens and we meet up in the common room?"

"Deal," Hermione smiled and they parted way. George went down to the kitchen while Hermione and Fred stayed for a moment to clean up Fred's bloody face. Hermione watched patiently for two minutes as Fred tried to get the half-dried blood from his face without a mirror before she stepped in.

"You're just spreading it all over your face," she interrupted, taking the tissue from Fred. "Let me help." With a well-placed Scourgify Hermione cleaned Fred's face quickly.

"Thanks," and with mirroring grins they made their way to Gryffindor Tower together. Hermione wanted to hug George for giving her this perfect opportunity but that would probably be weird.

"You know, if I had bet on you helping us one day with our products, I would have lost some money today," Fred mentioned casually as they climbed through the portrait hole. The Fat Lady eyed them suspiciously but said nothing.

"Lucky for you, you know better than to bet on anything that involves me," Hermione winked. "Just remember the Yule Ball disaster."

"Yeah, ickle Ronniekins will probably never get his act together. Still not interested in him?" Thankfully they were alone in the common room. It was later than Hermione had thought and everyone else had already gone to bed. So they took the liberty to push a couch closer to the dim fire.

"Nope, still only seeing him as a friend. And I don't think that will ever change." Hermione gingerly sat down cross-legged, careful to arrange her skirt properly.

"Well, if," Fred held his hands high to pacify her. "If that ever changes then you will probably have to make the first step. Just keep in that in mind. Weasley men are in general oblivious idiots. Got it from Dad, who never would have made the first step without Mum slipping him a little encouraging love potion. Always thought that George and I are the big exceptions from the rule, but since George is behaving like a fool around Angie I highly doubt it. Pretty sure Fleur made the first step with Bill too. And Bill's supposed to be the cool one. Seems like I'm the last man standing between all those fools." A proud grin tugged on Fred's lips.

"Oh, believe me, I know all about oblivious Weasley men. Maybe you shouldn't think so highly of yourself," Hermione muttered. _Since you're the most oblivious of them all_ , she added internally.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione felt her face flush as she realised that she had said too much. _Gryffindor courage!_

"Well, I'm trying to get your atten-"

A loud bang interrupted her as George almost ran into the common room. Not that Hermione really knew how this sentence would have ended. She had started to talk without thinking, which was very unlike her.

"That was close!" George slammed the door shut behind him and sank down on the floor. With a lot of overacting, he opened the pockets of his robe and presented them with a kind of tarts, cookies and a few bottles of pumpkin juice. "The toad almost caught me on the way back. Merlin, I wish she would bugger off already. Really, is it too much to ask that whatever drives of the DADA teacher every year hurries up a bit?"

"Yeah, can't imagine what it will be like if this actually manages to survive the year. One more educational decree and I'm going to jump from the Astronomy Tower." Fred shuddered. "On the other hand, it would be good for business. The more students hate their teachers, the more prank products they will buy."

Hermione still felt her heart stutter from the interruption - or more what she had wanted to say beforehand - so she busied herself with sipping from a pumpkin juice. It was a mystery to her why neither of the twins commented on her bright red face. And it had to be bright face because she felt like she was burning up. With some effort, Hermione managed to concentrate on the conversation between Fred and George.

"Oh, and next year we're out of school. So we could help from the outside. Get some dirt on the old toad and help to get her fired." The twins laughed evilly, probably to entertain Hermione.

Getting dirt on Umbridge to drive her away would be wonderful. But they really couldn't wait so long. Who knew, maybe the pink menace really managed to come back for the next school year…

_What a horrifying thought_ , Hermione cringed. Maybe we could use the blood quill to expose her?

"If we manage to get something juicy about Umbridge then we could blackmail her to leave school," one of the twins suggested with a snicker.

_Blackmail!_ They hadn't anything on Umbridge, that wouldn't work. But Hermione knew someone else she had material on, someone who could actually help.

"You two are brilliant!" On a whim, Hermione hugged Fred, who was sitting right beside her, tightly and grinned at him.

"Thanks?"

"I just got the best idea ever!" Hermione jumped up. She needed to write a letter and think about her strategy. How could she convince Harry and where would they get a publisher? She was almost at the stairs when George called after her.

"Hey Granger, I'm brilliant too! Got no hugs for me?"

"Nope," Hermione answered laughing and when she turned around, she saw Fred's bright red face and George's raised eyebrow. A blush crept on her face but she also still smiled. Maybe it was easier than thought to flirt with Fred.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"Okay, today we will finally train how to duel," Harry announced and an excited whispering spread through the room. Till now they had only trained specific spells and jinxes against each other but never had the chance to duel freestyle.

"How about we start with a little demonstration?"

"Here!" Ginny yelled, grinning like a nutter. Instantly most people took a step back. Everyone knew about Ginny's talent hexes and her temper. Plus, no one wanted to duel her with three of her brothers in the room. But Ginny just grinned and pulled a confused Hermione with her to the middle of the room.

"I'm volunteering myself and Hermione."

"Okay, so Ginny against Hermione?" Harry was obviously surprised.

"Hell no, that would be no fun. Hermione and I will be a team and we will duel…" Ginny made a meaningful pause and let her gaze wander through the crowd. "Fred and George. Always wanted to beat those two up."

Giggles and murmuring filled the room as Hermione was torn between kissing or killing Ginny. Of course, they had planned that Hermione would team up with Fred during practices. But duelling each other? Hermione felt her face heat up and she hoped that it wasn't as red as it felt like.

"You're on, little sister," the twins crowed, stepping forward as well. Harry, who just smiled resigned, stepped back a little and started to explain the rules.

"Okay, everyone else please step back and make room for the duellists. Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, I expect a fair duel." At this, the whole room erupted in laughter. Even Harry grinned. "No forbidden curses, of course. Nothing that causes severe injuries, we don't want to make Madame Pomfrey suspicious. And please be careful with your aim, we don't want anyone other than you four involved." With a last meaningful look in the direction of Fred and George, Harry stepped back.

"Okay, bow," he commanded. Slowly Hermione bowed but had her eyes fixed on Fred. He was directly opposite of her and would probably be the first to attack her.

"Start!"

Harry's voice was like the starting gunshot at a race. In seconds Hermione had cast a shield charm in front of her and Ginny, protecting them from the jinxes the twins shot in their direction. As predicted, Ginny was also the type to go into the offence but thanks to Hermione's shield she had an advantage. While Fred and George both needed to evade one of Ginny's bad-eye-boggy-hexes, Ginny was able to cast the next spell instantly. Hermione felt a grin tuck at her lips as she strengthened the shield and then started to join the attack.

Hermione knew she wasn't the best at duelling. Above average sure, and she learned spells faster than everyone else, but knowledge and technique were only a small in duelling. And Hermione was aware of that. That was why Harry was better at it as her. He knew how to seize a chance in a duel and that was far more important. And against someone like the twins, it was vital.

Fred and George were a force of nature. They were casting spells faster than Hermione could follow and escaped Hermione's and Ginny's attacks with artistic jumps, dives and little dance moves. They even managed to crack a joke here and there, taunting Hermione and Ginny. But the twin's teamwork was more than remarkable. They gave each other cover and seemed to sense when the other needed help.

"That's what you call a stunner, Granger? My great-aunt Muriel can do better." George yelled before he tried to get one of his own stunners past her shields. But thankfully Hermione was fast with shield charms.

"Ha! You would know everything about Muriel's stunner, right George? Since she hit you constantly when we were little," Ginny shot back, a mad grin on her face. She really was similar to the twins. And she duelled as crazy and creative as them.

"Lies!" George laughed and for a second he was distracted but before Hermione's tap-dancing-hex could hit him Fred was able to cast a shield.

"My, my, Hermione, attacking an unsuspecting man. How impolite," and with a smirk, Fred shot another spell against her shield. Which only shook slightly. "While you are hiding behind your little shield charm. Why not join the actual fight?" He taunted and Hermione's heart stuttered for a moment at his waggling eyebrows.

"Oh, want me to beat you up? Maybe you're into _this kind of stuff_ after all?" She grinned, remembering how Fred had laughed in the Marauder's Den about the same joke. And sure enough, the same loud and warm laughter sounded through the room.

"Got anything else besides witty comments?"

"Of course, but I'm not sure if you can handle it." Hermione laughed, sending a few spells as fast as she could towards Fred. Finally one of them hit him and his nose started to bleed, but unfortunately, the twin's little antidote wouldn't help him here.

"Ha! Nice touch, Granger," George let out a barking laugh and stopped the bleeding with a counterspell. An evil grin grazed both twins and the next full-blown attack hit Hermione's shields seconds later.

Her shield shattered and both Hermione and Ginny were flung on their butts. That was the moment Harry decided to end it the duel. All four of them were heavily panting and sweating. Hermione and Ginny smiled at each other in surprise and pure joy. Sure they had lost but they had put up a good fight.

"Good job, you two," Fred ruffled Ginny's hair and bumped Hermione slightly with his hip before the twins sauntered off to Lee.

"You're welcome, by the way. Now you have a better base for asking him to practice with you next time." Ginny grinned and Hermione just rolled her eyes but then smiled herself. Yeah, having Ginny as a best friend really was worth more than gold.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"I feel like an ickle firsty again," George muttered while they made their way to the Quidditch pitch. It was a nice, clear afternoon with perfect conditions for a winterly match. Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. And neither the twins nor Harry were allowed to play. For Harry, it was the first time seeing Gryffindor playing while Fred and George hadn't been in the ranks for six years during a Gryffindor match. And their mood was accordingly bad. All three of them were sulking and whining the whole way.

Hermione already missed watching the games with Ginny but her friend was on the field with Ron, hopefully winning the match for Gryffindor.

"Really, why do we even stay here?" Fred grumbled.

"Because of your N.E.W.T.s maybe?" Hermione threw him a worried glance. "And the knowledge that you will be free in a few months while we," she gestured at Harry and herself, "have to come back and, worst case, have to spend another year with her."

Umbridge was already seated when they arrived and smiled at Harry sweetly. Hermione was sure that the evil woman had chosen the perfect place to watch Harry suffer - and the twins too as a bonus.

"Don't worry, Hermione," Fred ruffled her hair. "You will survive. Harry and Ron probably not but you're made of tougher stuff."

"Thanks?" Hermione rolled her eyes but also grinned. She liked the easy joking she had established with Fred in the last few weeks. Somehow it felt like she got better in communicating with him. And still, shouldn't they be totally in sync as soulmates? Hermione was a bit confused because apparently magical soulmates were very different from the muggle idea of soulmates. She had always thought that soulmates would understand each other without words, and never doubt their connecting. But maybe she was just overthinking things and therefore made them more complicated than they really were.

While she was lost in her thoughts Madame Hooch opened the game with a shrill sound from her whistle. Instantly 14 players, red and yellow, shot into the air. Hermione saw Ron hovering between the rings and from somewhere in the ranks the song Weasley is our king started to sound.

"Shit," George groaned. "I hoped we would be over with this shit after the game against Slytherin."

"Right, as if Malfoy won't use a chance to humiliate Ron further." Harry glared towards the sea of green, where the Slytherins probably were singing. Hermione had a small hope that the Hufflepuffs would be nice enough not to play dirty and use the song to make Ron nervous.

But as predicted the game turned out as a bitter defeat for Gryffindor. Ron's nervousness helped the opposing team more than once and even Hermione could see that Ginny was not as good as Harry as a seeker. In the end, the youngest Weasley still got the snitch but ultimately Gryffindor still lost.

After the game, there was a solemn mood in the common room. The twins and Hermione had found some good places in front of the fire, not that there was much of a party going on. Ron - like most other students - had taken refuge in his dorm room right after the game and Ginny was half-heartedly taking congratulations for her catch. Right now Harry was talking to her and Hermione watched with interest how much Ginny had changed. She was no longer blushing or stammering. She was calm. Confident even.

"Ginny did us mercy. I couldn't have watched more than five minutes of this." Fred mutter into his butterbeer - nicked from the kitchens with the spongy excuse of needing something to better the mood, which didn't work.

"Yeah, reminded me a bit of Krum during the World Cup," George nodded, but his gaze was fixed at some corner of the common room. Hermione followed his gaze and saw that he was watching Angelina. The Gryffindor captain sat with Alicia, face in her hands. Everyone already had written off this season for Gryffindor and Hermione could only imagine what it felt like to be the captain during such a terrible time. Especially since it wasn't Angelina's fault. It was just a mixture of bad luck - and fiery temperament on Harry's and George's side - that had gotten them banned and robbed Gryffindor off his best players.

"You're right, Fred, without Quidditch there's nothing worth staying for."

"Are you sure?" Hermione nudged George with her foot, nodding towards Angelina. The urge to knock some sense into George and Angelina, and probably also Fred, grew stronger the longer she watched them avoiding each other.

"Yes, pretty sure." The redhead stood up. "I'm going to bed." Silently Hermione and Fred watched George walking off, even walking a little detour to avoid the corner where Angelina sat, and both shook their heads slightly.

"This is ridiculous," Hermione hissed. "If I witness one more miserable, longing gaze between those two I will lock them into a broom cupboard together."

"Good luck," Fred snickered. "I will gladly assist you. Maybe next Hogsmeade weekend we grab them and lock them into the Shrieking Shack? Perfect for a romantic heart-to-heart-talk," he winked.

"Brilliant, but I fear you will have to do it without me. I have other plans."

"Oh? A date?"

"What? No!" Hermione blushed. "I have a… hmm, promise you won't tell anyone? Not even George? If someone gets wind of it before the weekend… and I don't even know if it will work. Harry might hate the idea."

"Just spit it out, Hermione."

Hermione let her eyes wander through the room. Harry was already in his dorm room, Alicia and Angelina were talking in hushed voices with Ginny, and only some second years played exploding snap.

"Okay," barely a whisper, Hermione proceeded to explain her latest plan to Fred. How she had gotten the idea from him and George. How she had contacted all the necessary people. And how she hoped that Harry wouldn't get angry for her meddling. When Hermione finished her heart beat with the rhythm of a dozen drums, nervously awaiting a response.

"That's brilliant," Fred breathed. "But how did you convince Skeeter to meet you? And write something nice about Harry."

"Well, you can take credit for it." Hermione winked. "You and George gave me the idea when you mentioned blackmailing Umbridge," she whispered.

"Elaborate!" There was a mad grin on Fred's face.

"I may have some juicy dirt on the blonde poison that calls itself a reporter. And I may have used it to force her to write this article."

"Wow," now there was definite admiration in Fred's voice. "The toad will hate it."

"I know, I'm counting on it."

"As I said, you, Hermione Granger, are made of tough stuff."

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione was brimming with nervousness as she waited for Harry at the Three Broomsticks. She wasn't sure how he would react. Maybe Harry would get angry, even yell at her, for suggesting something so outrageous. Hopefully, he would at least think about it. Hermione knew - she was absolutely convinced - that this was a good idea. Even if it meant to make a deal with the she-devil Rita Skeeter and Luna Lovegood, who was as equally strange as she was lovable.

From the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Fred, George and Lee coming in, chatting about something and big bags with likely unspeakable content slung over their shoulders. Seemed like they had bought new ingredients for their products. Fred winked at her and Hermione was sure that he was here to watch the meeting. He was probably curious. But just as she thought about inviting him to the table or going over to say hello, Harry came in much sooner as expected. He obviously wasn't in a good mood so Hermione jumped right into explanation mood in hope to quell his anger right at the start. For now, she needed Harry to listen and think about her idea before dismissing it.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The morning the Quibbler was published began with the arrival of an enormous stack of letters to Harry. People telling him that he was nuts. People telling him they believed him. It was everything Hermione had hoped for. The truth was out. And now the magical community could decide for themselves who they wanted to believe.

And when Umbridge banned the Quibbler from school ground, Hermione couldn't have been happier. The old toad was doing exactly what every dictator with power struggles would do: oppress the opposition. And by doing that Harry got the sympathy, or at least interest, of the whole school. Suddenly the Quibbler was the most interesting thing and even those who didn't believe Harry wanted to read the interview at least once.

"Granger, that really was a brilliant idea." George ripped open another letter to Harry. They were all at the common room after dinner, lounging in front of the fire and had fun with opening Harry's fan post for him. Fred and George read the most hilarious letters out loud and made a show out of burning the negative ones. For a change, there was laughter and happiness filling Gryffindor Tower instead of the grumbling about Umbridge that had occupied it in the last months.

"Yeah, the brightest witch of her age," Fred grinned, flopping down beside Hermione. "We should nick something from the kitchens for you. Or do you want something from Hogsmeade? Some sugar quills?"

"No, thank you. Food is not really a reward for me. I'm not Ron," Hermione winked and barely heard the angry _I heard that_ from Ron as Fred laughed so loud right beside her, leaning into her slightly.

"So," his face was so close and he looked her right into the eyes, "what kind of reward is more your taste?"

"Ahm," Hermione's brain had a rare blackout as she tried to formulate the right words. Unconsciously she licked her lips.

"I know," Fred grabbed her hand, flipping it around to show the inside of her wrist. Then, with some bright blue ink, he made a little mark. "Here, the perfect reward for you."

"A zero?"

"No! That's an O! Hermione Granger, you hereby earned your first Outstanding and I'm sure many more will follow."

"That's," Hermione wanted to protest that there were things more important to her than grades and school but ultimately Fred's proud grin was infectious and she smiled back. "That's pretty perfect. Thank you." Fred bounced off to read and re-enact more letters with George and Hermione couldn't stop herself from watching him.

"Why are you smiling like an idiot?" Ron asked suddenly, interrupting her daydreaming.

"I'm just really happy that we finally had a small victory against Umbridge," Hermione grinned, too happy to let Ron's impoliteness destroy her mood. He shrugged, apparently content with the answer, while Ginny snickered lightly beside Ron and winked at Hermione.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Playfully the silver otter swam through the room, spreading joy and laughter. The whole room stared in awe at the glowing Patronus and Hermione felt an odd sort of pride and joy swelling in her chest. This was her Patronus. Something playful and joyful, a light-hearted creature, which made people laugh.

Hermione had been the first one - no surprise here - who mastered the Patronus charm after Harry had explained it to them at the beginning of the meeting. It hadn't taken her long to remember happy memories. Memories of growing up with loving parents. Memories of her years at Hogwarts spent with friends. Memories of Fred's smile…

While Hermione was daydreaming and watching her otter, more and more people in the room began to produce a Patronus. Soon Ginny's horse was running through the room while Ron's terrier tried to chase Hermione's otter. Happiness and joy were etched on everyone's faces and the room was brightened by silver light. It was truly magical. Hermione thought she could have produced a hundred Patronus from this memory alone.

Suddenly she was shaken from her peaceful state when a silver fox was running around her legs, staring up at her with expectant eyes.

"Oy seems like he wants to play," Fred laughed, walking over to Hermione. Grinning they both watched how the fox started to chase the otter. It looked like they were playing tag.

"They're wonderful, aren't they?" Hermione sighed.

"Certainly, and quite amusing," Fred nodded to a corner of the room, where two Patronus animals were standing in front of each other, apparently not sure what to make of each other. One was a coyote and the other was a bunny. Finally, they started to sniff each other - Hermione thought it was a bit ridiculous for them to behave like real animals - and soon they were cuddling. Beside her, Fred let out a loud laugh and then a sigh.

"The coyote belongs to George and the bunny," he pointed towards Angelina, who stood far away from the two silver animals, watching them with wide eyes. George, upon closer inspection, also seemed a bit shocked.

"Maybe I will actually help you with locking them in together," she muttered. Hermione couldn't understand why it was so hard for George and Angelina to look at each other. Okay, George, she got. He felt guilty about the whole thing with pushing Fred and Angelina together. He was afraid of hurting Fred. And afraid of Angelina still being in love with Fred, of getting rejected by her no matter what.

But Angelina? Hermione only knew Angelina as brave and straight-forward. The only reason Hermione could imagine made this so difficult for Angelina was that the girl was actually still in love with Fred and therefore still having a hard time with the break-up. Hermione hoped desperately it wasn't like that. Not only because she didn't see a future for Angelina and Fred - not if she succeeded with wooing Fred - also because Hermione really wanted George and Angelina to be happy too.

"Might try after the Easter holidays," Fred nodded with a grin, but his eyes were determined and Hermione knew he wasn't joking. He actually would do it.

"Well, count me in," Hermione whispered but before Fred could retort - probably with some witty joke - the door of the Room of Requirement opened and Dobby the house-elf entered.

Everything after that was a blur. Harry screamed at them to run and suddenly every Patronus went out, the missing light left the room gloomy and cold. And then chaos broke loose.

The room opened several new doors and exits for them and groups of students were heading towards them with white, fearful faces. Hermione frantically looked around, searching for Harry, Ron and Ginny. Fred was still by her side but he too was looking around, probably for George.

"Come," he grabbed her hand, tugging her to the closest door.

"What's with Harry? Harry!" Hermione yelled but couldn't see him.

"Harry is a big boy, he will manage. But we have to get out now!" With a pounding heart, Hermione followed Fred through the exit. They came out somewhere around the library. Instantly they started to run, but the Gryffindor Tower was too far away. With a painful jolt in her chest, Hermione realised that they wouldn't make it to their common room. She could hear footsteps behind them.

"Someone is running that way!"

Hermione and Fred both froze for a minute. If they were caught now, they were doomed. They had no good explanation of why they were in the halls, running and out of breath. Determined she tugged Fred to the library. They would be able to lie and say that they were studying if they made it in time.

They were lucky and Madame Pince was nowhere to be seen which meant that she couldn't scold them for being sweaty and out of breath, or rat them out to Umbridge. Hermione was sure that Pince liked Umbridge as well as everyone else but who knew what she would do if the High Inquisitor asked her directly if students had come in recently.

Hermione pulled Fred to one of the secluded tables and sank against one of the bookshelves with a heavy sigh. Her heart was racing and her lungs ached for air. Adrenaline was rushing through her veins.

"Search everywhere! I'm sure I saw someone coming in."

With wide eyes, Hermione and Fred stared at each other. They were obviously both out of breath. Even someone as stupid as Crabbe or Goyle would catch on.

"Let me do the talking," Fred whispered and made a large step forward, while he loosened his tie and tousled his hair.

"And please don't hex me." Hermione wanted to ask what he planned to do but before she got the chance she was pressed against a shelf with her back. Fred's hands were on her hips, his upper body towered over her. Hermione's could hear the loud footsteps thundering somewhere near them but her eyes were fixed on Fred's. Did he look... afraid? Then his right hand cupped her face and his lips were on hers.

The kiss started similar like their first one under the mistletoe months ago. Soft and chaste. But this time Hermione wasn't as frozen or overwhelmed and without thinking she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Fred's neck to pull him closer. She leaned into the kiss, savouring it, and Fred did too. Their lips danced hot against each other.

"Oy, Weasley!" Abruptly Fred ended the kiss, turning slightly to the invader of their blissful moment.

"What do you want, Montague? Can't you see I'm a bit occupied?" Fred asked in an arrogant, teasing tone, looking at the bulky Slytherin only over his shoulder. His body was mainly turned towards Hermione and she realised that he was shielding her from being seen. Deciding that she would play along, Hermione let out a giggle and sank her forehead against Fred's chest. Instantly his hands went to her lower back, keeping her close by.

"What did you do in the last few hours, Weasley?"

"What does it look like?" Fred asked back, his usual grin plastered on his face while he made a show of adjusting his tie a bit. Hermione couldn't see Montague but she heard how he grunted displeased.

"I will never understand why any witch would want a bloody blood traitor like you," Montague hissed before his footsteps indicated that he walked off. For a minute or two, Hermione and Fred remained as they were in silence, waiting if someone else would come and search for them. For a moment they just stared at each other, unsure of what to do next.

"Well, who would have thought that my bad reputation would save our arse one day?" Fred joked weakly and took a step back. "Let's search George and the others." Pointy averting Hermione's eyes Fred started to walk off slowly, peering around the corners cautiously. Hermione followed him flabbergasted.

Just outside the library, they met George and Lee, who looked dishevelled but smiled in a very satisfied way.

"The Slytherins are helping the toad," George announced.

"We got rid of Warrington by putting him into one of the armours. Peeves is using him as hit target right now to polish his aim," Lee snickered.

"We hid in the library from Montague," Fred replied vaguely and Hermione could hear the awkwardness in his tone. George also raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Did you see Harry or Ron? Or Ginny?" Hermione asked to prevent George from asking any uncomfortable questions. "I haven't seen them since we split up. I'm worried." She bit on her lips. Hermione was worried, now that the confused fog in her head started to clear up. Everything had gone so fast and chaotic. Merlin knew it what kind of trouble her best friends were without her. Especially Harry.

"Let's go to dinner and see who we can find," Lee suggested. But before they reached the Great Hall Ginny and Neville crossed their way. Both looked quite proud of themselves.

"You okay?" Fred and George exclaimed at the same time, hugging their little sister and checking for injuries.

"I'm absolutely fine," Ginny grinned. "Neville and I disarmed some of the Slytherins who were searching the halls. They didn't see us but I reckon we could help a few people flee."

"Seems like we don't need to worry about you anymore, little sister." Fred tousled Ginny's hair, while George playfully pinched her cheek. "Look how grown-up she is."

"I never needed you two to worry about me," Ginny glared.

"Yeah, but since we're still your older brothers, we have the right to worry as much as we like. And to protect you whenever we deem it necessary. Same applies to you too, Granger. I'm glad Freddie was there to get you out," George smiled brotherly. Hermione felt her smile slip from her face.

"I'm not-"

"Our sister," Fred interjected. "Yeah, this seems familiar. Rather like a deja-vu."

"Well, we can still be worried about you, right?" George frowned and Fred nodded. "We're friends and we both feel protective of you. So don't get your knickers in a twist and just accept that we are the annoying older brothers you never had and never wanted."

"Yeah, seems like I have to accept that," Hermione muttered darkly. "I think I will skip dinner and see if I can find Harry and Ron." She announced and just saw how Fred raised his eyebrows while Ginny smacked George right in the stomach - hard from the sound he made - and hissed a nasty Well done.

Hermione had expected that Ginny would follow her so she wasn't surprised when someone's footsteps sounded behind her. Stoically Hermione gave the Fat Lady the password and made her way to the dorm rooms. She didn't want to break down in the common room so she delayed her talk with Ginny on purpose. But right before the stairs someone caught her arm and pulled her into one of the small alcoves right beside the stairs.

"Ginny, what the-"

"Wrong redhead, I'm afraid," Fred said coldly and a chill went down Hermione's spine. "Is it really so awful that we see you as a little sister?"

"Yes, it is." Hermione could see how Fred's face fell. "And at the same time, it isn't. But as far as I know, you don't kiss your sister. Twice!"

"Erm," Fred blushed and Hermione felt like she dancing on a razor blade. In danger to fall off or cut herself anytime. "Hermione, I…" She interrupted him rather forcefully.

"Fred, I don't care if George sees me as a little sister. Tell him I'm sorry for lashing out on him." There was a stunning silence.

"But you care if it's me?" He blinked confused and Hermione was reminded of what he had said. _Weasley men are in general oblivious idiots. Got it from Dad._

"Yes," Hermione's voice was more like a whisper. _Please, please, don't make me say it, not now. Not like this._ Fred' face was absolutely blank as she finally looked up. He seemed like he saw a ghost, or well, something equally unusual to wizards. But he didn't say a word. He just stared at her like he was seeing her for the first time. Well, maybe this really was the first time he really saw _her._

"You know what, forget it. Forget I even said anything." Hermione pushed her way out of the alcove and stormed to her dorm room as fast as she could.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The news about Dumbledore's flight from Hogwarts and Umbridge's promotion to Headmistress made it through the castle before breakfast even started, thanks to the new educational degrees popping up everywhere and the gossiping pictures from Dumbledore's office.

Hermione sat at breakfast with Ron, Harry and Ginny, deeply in thought. She had barely slept the last night. Her conversation with Fred played over and over in her head and she knew that she had messed up. She had wanted to do it better and not blur it out during a fight. But when she had seen Fred this morning he had been absolutely normal. He had smiled at her as usual, and that hurt more than if he had ignored her. He just glossed over what happened, what she had told him, and treated her like any other fellow Gryffindor and family friend. Just like before.

Hermione was forcefully pulled from her thought when loud bangs and explosion started to sound through the hall. Seconds later colourful fireworks invaded the Great Hall, swishing through the air and shooting sparks, accompanied by a deafening noise. Despite her current emotional state, Hermione couldn't prevent the large smile which tugged on her lips.

The fireworks terrorised the school for the rest of the day which made Fred and George true heroes. The common room cheered loudly for them in the evening and a not so small amount of students started to fill out orders right away. Hermione knew she should put a stop on that but she didn't care.

"That were wonderful fireworks," she told George which took him by pleasant surprise. Fred also smiled at her but then was quickly back to taking orders.

Much later that evening Hermione took all her courage and made her way to Fred. He and George were among the last people in the common room, counting the orders and whispering amongst themselves.

_Now or never._ It wouldn't do her good to wait too long.

"Fred, can I talk to you?" His eyes widened in surprise but still, he nodded and followed her to the small alcove where they had talked yesterday.

"Look, I didn't want to say… what I said yesterday, I don't know if I really said what I meant," she gulped.

"Tell me what you meant?" There was a pleading note in his voice. _Courage_ , Hermione reminded herself. _Gryffindor bravery._

"Fred, I like you. Like, I really like you. I'm in love with you and I wanted to tell you for a while now but the timing never seemed right and I was afraid and-"

"So, I did understand you right," Fred muttered and Hermione's blood froze. Merlin, she was going to get rejected. And it would hurt.

"Oh no, Hermione, that's not- damn…" Fred exclaimed as he saw her face. He ruffled his hair with both hands, brushing over his face as well a few times. "Hermione, I like you, really, I do."

"Oh…?" That was not what she had expected. Never in her wildest dream had Hermione Granger thought that Fred Weasley could like her back. But she saw it in his eyes and the way his eyebrows were tightly frowning, the way he bit his lips, that he had more to say.

"But I don't know if it's enough to risk our friendship for it. You're such a big part of my life, you're Ron's best friend and my family loves you and… I still don't even have an answer for why I kissed you under the mistletoe and I can't for my life explain why I did it yesterday. I'm just absolutely clueless right now about what I feel and what I want and…"

"So, you mean you're just as useless as all Weasley men," Hermione teased, trying to ease the tension.

"Yes," Fred laughed relieved. "That's exactly it. It hurts my pride to admit that I'm not the last man standing among the Weasley fools but probably the most idiotic one of them all." A shy smile danced on his lips. Hermione's heart felt like it could explode any minute.

"And now? Do you want to find out if it's worth the risk?"

"I think I need some time to decide, is that okay?" She knew why Fred was hesitating. He needed time after everything that had happened with Angelina and probably was still a bit confused with his own feelings. Hermione understood. For a second she thought about showing him the mark. It would be so easy to just lift her shirt and then there would be no need for Fred to think about it. No room left for doubts. But it wouldn't be fair.

"Of course," Hermione answered finally, a happy smile dancing on her lips. When she saw Fred's grateful eyes and how he relaxed visibly, she knew she had made the right decision.

"So, as soon as I get over my Weasley idiocy I will inform you?"

"Deal," Hermione offered Fred her hand and with a smile he took it. There was a small flicker of hope lightning in her heart. Maybe wooing Fred had actually worked a tiny bit in the last few months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tatatatdaaa! What do you think?
> 
> Now, guys and girls and everyone who identifies as non-binary, I have to warn you that this is the last pre-written chapter and now you have to suffer my slow arse... I'm sorry! I'm working hard but I'm a slow writer with a massive feeling of never writing anything good^^ But I will never ever abandon this story so don't give up on me.


	25. Staying Behind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know it's been terribly long and I feel really guilty. As you know, I needed to find a new job (which I did) and had a bit of stress with that in the last few months. But the good news is: I managed to write ahead a bit and have a few chapters almost finished. I'm trying to establish a steady publishing rhythm but I can't promise an exact day, it depends on my working schedule when I can update. But I will try to update every two weeks :)

 

**WHAT IF**

**Chapter 24 –**   **Staying Behind**

Hermione stared at the entrance door of Hogwarts with disbelief. She couldn't believe the twins had just left like that. Granted, it was a spectacular prank and would probably make them legends. Umbridge was fuming with anger. Hermione couldn't help and be proud of them. But she was also angry for being robbed of the little time she had had left with Fred. Their last year at Hogwarts together and he had the nerve to leave early. Hermione felt somehow betrayed.

Before anyone could intercept her to celebrate the prank of the century Hermione slipped away with the excuse that she wanted to study some more at the library. Since the O.W.L.s weren't far away the few people trying to talk to her believed the lie right away. But her actual destination was the hidden room behind the snobbish portrait. She needed to see it. Quickly she muttered the password, only to be taken by complete surprise when she stepped inside.

In front of one of the bookshelves stood Angelina, looking a bit lost. The older girl looked up when the door closed behind Hermione and stared at her with wide eyes, probably mirroring Hermione's own face perfectly.

"They gave  _you_  the password?" Angelina asked in an unusually cold voice. But the look in her eyes betrayed her. Angelina looked as hurt as Hermione felt.

"Yeah," Hermione answered shyly. It shouldn't have surprised her that Angelina knew about the room and the password. But she forced herself not to think about why. She didn't need more mental images about Angelina and Fred snogging in her head.

"Well, that's rather surprising," the Quidditch captain sank down on one of the couches, letting out a loud sigh. "And why are you here?"

"Probably the same reason you are," Hermione sat down beside Angelina. For a minute they just stared at the cold fireplace.

"I wanted to see if they had planned it," Angelina finally admitted. And it really was the same reason Hermione had stepped inside the room. "Looking at this, I would say it was."

Hermione nodded weakly. She let her eyes wander through the hidden room. The books were back in the shelves - neatly sorted - the couches were arranged in front of the fire again instead of pushed to walls, and the cauldrons and every other stuff the twins had stored here were gone. In short, it looked like the infamous Weasley twins had never set foot into the room. They must have planned their escape for a while.

"Yeah, they actually planned this whole thing, and for a long time apparently," Angelina's voice sounded as betrayed and angry as Hermione felt. "I'm so angry… just leaving like that. I had the hope that we would manage to talk... this out. And now," her voice broke. Hermione stayed silent, contemplating if she should tell Angelina that she knew the truth about her and Fred and George and the soul mark. But she wasn't sure if the older girl would appreciate knowing that Fred and George had let other people in on their secret. Maybe Angelina would be angry at them for it.

"You can always try when the school year is over," Hermione suggested. "Visit the shop they so proudly announced after you're graduation."

"Maybe," Angelina let out a watery giggle. "Merlin, only the two of them could pull off such an equally ridiculous as brilliant stunt. And using it as free advertisement."

"Yes, they are probably already swamped with owl orders," Hermione sighed. She was proud of Fred and George but loathed the idea of having even more of their products terrorising the castle. As long as Umbridge and her regime was the target everything was fair game to most of the prefects - even to Hermione - but she knew that it wouldn't stay that way. Sooner or later, she certainly hoped for sooner, the normal order of things had to be re-established and then the WWW products would annoy her to no end. She was dead sure of it.

"I'm not sure they would want to see me," Angelina whispered awkwardly after a few seconds. "I can't imagine either of them being very pleased with me casually strolling through their shop as if nothing has happened. Probably will throw me out."

"Why would they?"

"Well… look, Hermione, I really like you. You're a good person but I really can't talk about it. It's not... I fear what you might think of me." Hermione crinkled her brows in confusion. The twins had talked to her about what had happened without hesitation other than awkwardness and guilt.

"I don't want to pressure you, Angelina. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But you seem like you need someone to talk to. I've seen how you avoided Fred  _and_  George during the last few months and you seemed very unhappy with that."

"I was," Angelina admitted, eyeing Hermione carefully. "They were my friends for most of our school time. Being in the same house, playing Quidditch together, we were a tightly knitted group together with Alicia and Lee. But after the break-up from Fred, things got awkward and… well, I think you're well aware that Fred and I didn't really have a friendly break-up. We had a fight and we didn't talk afterwards. And then he started to whore around and I had the strong urge to push him off some really high tower. That made it almost impossible for a while for us to be even slightly friendly with each other." She sighed again. "I can be a real bitch when I'm angry and Fred and George know that better than anyone else."

"Fred hurt you pretty bad, huh?" Hermione couldn't imagine how it had been for Angelina. Angelina only shrugged, looking utterly defeated.

"Yes, and no. Seeing him with other girls wasn't the worst. Hearing the gossip and mean whispers behind my back was bad. Seeing that I had meant very little to him and that he was intentionally embarrassing me like that was worse. But the worst was the loss of not only one but two of my closest friends."

"You know, I always wondered why you and George couldn't stay friends. He also didn't seem pleased with Fred during that time." Angelina blushed a bright pink at Hermione's question and for a few minutes just stared at the pattern of the sofa, tracing it with her fingers.

Hermine knew it was kind of unfair to fish for information like that since she very well knew what was going on. But Angelina's reluctance to talk about the real reason made Hermione think that it really was best not to reveal her knowledge.

"If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone else? No one knows besides Fred, George and me. I couldn't even tell Alicia." Hermione furrowed her brows but nodded nonetheless. She didn't get why Angelina had such an issue about talking about it.

"You see, Fred and I broke up because I found my soulmate and… it really wasn't an option to stay together despite that." Angelina opened two or three buttons of her shirt and showed Hermione her bright, colourful soul mark. A deep pink rose in full flower. So remarkably similar to Hermione's own mark that it almost took her breath away even though she had already seen George's mark. Since then Hermione had often wondered what colour her rose would have one day. If she ever managed to show her mark to Fred without dying of shyness.

"But you can't tell anyone!" Angelina urged again. "It really is… unconventional and I fear what people would say."

"Oh well, maybe I should tell you that I saw this soul mark before, would that make it easier for you to talk about it?" Hermione finally decided that she needed to be honest with Angelina. The girl was so fixed on doing or saying something improper for no good reason that Hermione knew it would be best to play with open cards.

"During the Christmas Holidays Fred and George were miserable and a bit at odds with each other but somehow I got them to talk with me, completely by accident, really, and they told me what happened between you three."

"You know everything? Why Fred and I broke up?" Hermione nodded. "George and the mark?" She nodded again.

"I can't believe it." Angelina jumped up and began to walk through the room nervously. "I was torturing myself for months because I thought I couldn't talk about it to anyone and they told you. You of all people, I mean, don't take it personally but I didn't know you were so close."

"Well, we were always friends, we just became closer friends during the holidays," Hermione shrugged. She couldn't exactly tell Angelina more. No one could know about the attack on Mr Weasley which had emotionally affected the twins and changed their relationship with Hermione. And Hermione wasn't sure if telling Angelina about her own soul mark would be a good idea. And then there were the things the twins had told Hermione about Angelina and their individual relationships with her. Hermione strongly suspected that the twins wouldn't want her to tell Angelina about it.

"Angelina, why do you think people would think badly of you? It would have made everything so much easier for you if had confided in someone." Hermione tried to be gentle but Angelina's behaviour irritated her. She would have never guessed that someone as cool and strong and outspoken as Angelina would be embarrassed about something that wasn't her fault. That simply wasn't rational.

"I…" Small tears gathered in Angelina's dark eyes. "Hermione, I'm the slut who fell in love with her soulmate's twin. That's… there is... Soulmates might not be seen as the only option to have a fulfilling relationship but there are still certain expectations about it. Can you imagine what people will think of me being involved with twin brothers?"

"Involved?" Hermione echoed. Slowly she got a better idea of what was going on in Angelina's pretty head but she still thought it was ridiculous.

"You know what I mean. If I were to date George everyone would think I'm playing with the twins' hearts. Breaking up with one just to date the other? They will think I'm shallow and… But that's just hypothetically; I don't think it will ever happen either way." At this Hermione raised her eyebrow in interest.

"But you would want to date George?" She grinned while Angelina blushed a pretty pink. "Purely hypothetically, of course."

"Doesn't matter, George isn't interested in me," Angelina brushed a hand through her hair and Hermione's comment away. "The best outcome of this will be if I get them both back as friends and we'll never talk about it again. Merlin, I can't imagine what Mrs Weasley would do if she ever gets knowledge of this. Till now I think she rather liked me from the few times I saw her but she will surely hate me if she gets the impression that I'm hurting her precious sons."

Hermione wanted to protest and defend Mrs Weasley but found that she couldn't do so honestly. Mrs Weasley had some rather strong opinions about behaviour - even if most of her sons decided not to follow them. And she was quick with judging people without knowing everything if it involved protecting her family and the people she loved. The memory of Mrs Weasley's coldness towards Hermione during the fourth year when the Prophet had printed those lies about Hermione, Harry, and Victor were still vivid and proof that the woman was fiercely protective. Mrs Weasley might really think badly of Angelina but probably only for a while.

"Maybe, but she doesn't have to know, right? I doubt Fred told her about your relationship." Angelina just shrugged, unconvinced. "Plus, I think that George's opinion on the matter is a lot more important than his mother's isn't it? You should really talk to him." Hermione urged.

"Hermione, you don't get it. How could I ever start a relationship with George without having my past with Fred hanging over us like a Damocles sword? It feels like everything we could have is now poisoned before it even started. And no matter how Fred behaved with all these girls and everything, I can't imagine he would be pleased if I just go and hook up with his brother."

Hermione groaned and wished she could hex Fred and George to sprout some really painful boils right now. Those idiots and their inability to talk, first to each other, and now to Angelina. It made everything much more complicated.

"You should really, really talk to them. Both of them," Hermione stamped down the urge to tell Angelina everything about the twins own guilt and struggles. Telling could make things easier but what if it made everything worse? And it would mean more, so much more, if George would get his act together and tell Angelina about his own feelings himself. Hermione struggled to keep her thoughts to herself but she knew it was better not to meddle too much.

"You are soulmates, you can't just give up on that so easily without even trying. What if George wants to date you? What if Fred is okay with that? Angelina, you should at least try it instead of telling yourself it will never work. You usually are so brave and now you're behaving like it was your fault. Like you're feeling guilty. But it's not your fault, no ones, really. It just happened."

"But I am guilty," Angelina whispered angrily. "It's my fault because I was stupid enough to let myself fall for Fred while I was already half in love with George. George was always- we were always a bit closer, I think. I always felt more comfortable around George. Since we've known each other it always felt like I had a better connection with him. And then Fred asked me about the Yule Ball, as friends I thought. But he started flirting with me, kept asking me out. He was so- he was so damn - what's a good word - persistent. And charming. And I fell for him. Fred really managed to properly woo me and make me fall in love with him. But the feelings I had for George never really vanished and I already felt so terribly guilty the whole time I dated Fred. I think I can't forgive myself and my graceless heart for being so utterly stupid. So you see, I really am the slag who fell for her soulmate's twin even though I already had feelings for said soulmate."

"Angelina! Good gods, you've talked yourself into a right state, didn't you? Don't be so stupid" Hermione almost knocked Angelina over when she pulled her into a hug. "You're not a slag for falling in love with someone even if you had feelings for someone else. It happens."

"Maybe…" Angelina shrugged, obviously not convinced but not eager to start a discussion with Hermione. Hermione knew this kind of behaviour from Harry and Ron whenever those two wanted to avoid a lecture. And she wasn't going to let it go just like this.

"No, believe me. Things with these soul marks can be awfully complicated. Just- just talk to George. And Fred. I'm sure they don't hate you. They probably feel as miserable as you." They sat in silence together for another ten minutes as Angelina got her composure back before they headed back to the common room.

It was a strange feeling, walking through Hogwarts with the knowledge that no Fred and George would be at the common room. No pranks or stupid jokes awaiting them.

Instead, Gryffindor tower was buzzing with talks about the twins. About their prank, the flight, the shop. Everyone seemed to know different things and the most ridiculous rumours were flying around. Ron and Ginny were also in the middle of the limelight by proxy which Ron enjoyed visibly more than Ginny.

With a shy smile, Angelina bid Hermione goodbye and went to Alicia and Lee, who were celebrating with the other seventh and sixth years. With a frustrated groan, Ginny appeared at Hermione side and pulled her away from the common room, up to the girls' dormitory.

"How are you?" Ginny's question a mere whisper.

"Furious at him for leaving like that, but at the same time proud," Hermione admitted quietly as she pushed open the door to her dorm room. Ginny had surely planned to have a chat just between the two of them but her plans were quickly destroyed when they stepped inside the room.

Lavender was sitting on her bed, mascara smeared around her red eyes, clutching a handkerchief and sobbing loudly. Parvati was beside her, muttering soft words into Lavender's hair and hugging her best friend tightly.

"What's wrong?" Hermione sighed. She really wanted to be sympathetic towards Lavender but it felt like the girl was crying constantly in the last few weeks.

"Sea- Seamus," Lavender hiccupped miserably and went to the bathroom but said nothing more. Ginny left with an eye-roll, obviously not interested in spending time with a crying Lavender.

"What's going on with them, Parvati? Lavender hasn't cried about Seamus since the night they broke up. And now she's back at crying almost every night," Hermione asked while she sank on her bed.

"Well, it was better for a time…" Parvati mused. "You know, Seamus broke up with Lavender because of their different opinions about Harry. And Lavender was mostly okay with it because she.. Well, she was defending her point and it made her bit proud that she was strong enough not to change her mind because of Seamus. But then Seamus joined the DA…" Parvati shrugged. "I think Lavender is on one side angry that Seamus didn't even apologise to her about being wrong about Harry and she's also, well, she thought they could get back together now. But Seamus doesn't seem intere-" she stopped when Lavender came back, still with red, swollen eyes but obviously in an I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it-mood.

Hermione lay down on her bed and pretended to read a book. Instead, her thoughts wandered off to Fred. Where were the twins now? Back at the Burrow? Or in their shop? Did they really have a plan for their future or did they leave on a whim? A part of her was overjoyed for Fred fulfilling his dream and another, bigger part, was incredibly sad and angry that he had left without telling her how he felt about her. Did that mean he would break his promise?

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

With a low thud, Fred landed on the stairs right in front of Grimmauld Place, a second later George followed. They both grinned broadly at each other before they knocked loudly on the old door. Instantly the cursing and yelling from Mrs Black's portrait could be heard and a minute later Sirius own voice got mixed in before the woman was silenced. A second later they stared at the tip of Sirius Black's wand.

"Why was Molly Weasley angry at me at the last Christmas party?"

"Because you smuggled firewhiskey inside-"

"-and got her poor innocent babies awfully drunk."

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Sirius asked astonished.

"Had a little disagreement with the pink dictator who fancies herself headmistress," George grinned widely. "Left behind a right mess."

"Thought we could take refuge with the most wanted man alive," Fred added. With an eye roll, Sirius let them in and led them straight to the large library, where Remus Lupin was waiting with a surprised expression and two glasses of some hard liquor.

"Cheers," Fred and George grabbed the glasses, clinked them, and downed the burning firewhiskey. It was by no way the first time for them to drink firewhiskey but never had it tasted so well-deserved.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Remus asked equally astonished as Sirius but with something very teacherish in his voice. It reminded Fred a bit of Percy, who would have also been suspicious of them if he was still talking to his family.

"Enjoying a life of freedom and undying fame," Fred smirked and filled their glasses again with a little wave of his wand. Yes, being out of school was wonderful. Away from the toad. Away from all the rules containing their wicked genius. Finally being able to use magic whenever and wherever they wanted.

Merlin, they had awaited this moment for years. The moment they could finally leave school and let their creativity run wild. Create things. Be independent. Free from all rules and restrictions trying to rein their chaotic intelligence in. Granted, for years they had thought they would leave school like everyone else. After graduating, with a few N.E.W.T.s, and no reason for their mother to kill them. That's why there were now at Grimmauld Place and not in the Burrow. They had decided it might be better not to meet their mum right after leaving school.

Fred sank down on one of the plush, and probably ancient, sofas beside his twin and together they entertained Sirius and Remus with the tale of their prank and escape. The two seemed deeply impressed and Fred had a feeling that Sirius would have given everything to be back at school, playing pranks and hanging with his old friends.

When Sirius and Remus had revealed themselves as being Padfoot and Moony during the last summer holidays Fred and George had almost screamed of joy. They had always admired the map and the complicated charm works used to create it. Since then had often tried to spend as much time as possible with Sirius and Remus to ask them for their opinion on products and stories of their days as marauders. And the two, but Sirius especially, were always eager to help.

When George finished with the description of Umbridge's screeching after they had flown off with their brooms, Remus' face got a bit grave.

"We had wondered how Harry managed to make the floo-call today," Sirius smiled slightly. "That explains a lot. Thanks for helping him."

"But it also means that Harry is now alone with this woman," their former teacher said quietly, his thoughts probably already far away at Hogwarts. For a moment Fred was surprised that he and George had been counted on to protect Harry.

"He has Ron and Hermione," George answered with a worried frown. "Those three are more than capable to look out for each other. They never asked us for help or support or protection, not until today at least. Plus, there are plenty of Order members at Hogwarts, right? McGonagall, Hagrid, even Snape, the git."

While George started a discussion with Remus and Sirius about Harry's safety, Fred's heart constricted painfully at the mention of Hermione. The memory of her standing before him, baring her heart and soul to him, hit him like a blutcher. Guilt made his stomach sink and he regretted leaving without saying goodbye to her.

George and he had decided months ago that they would leave school early if it was necessary and the opportunity presented itself. They had always suspected that it would be only a matter of time until Umbridge would catch and try to punish them. No way in hell, they would let that happen. No, they would rather leave with a bang, with a prank worthy of the Weasley twins, then to let the toad punish them. Not because they were afraid but they had a reputation to lose. So they had started to plan countless possible ways to escape ever since Umbridge had been made headmistress. And everything had gone perfectly. They had pulled their best prank yet and even helped a friend meanwhile.

But Fred had never thought he would feel so torn after his big success by the mere mention of Hermione Granger. It had only been a few weeks since she had confessed her feelings to him. And Fred had thought almost every day about it. He even dreamt about it. About her. And still, he was no step closer to figuring out what the hell was going on between them. But something was going on between them. He just wasn't sure if he was ready for it, ready for the consequences.

Determined Fred pushed the thought aside and joined the conversation between George, Sirius, and Remus. He would make sense of this mess some other day. Today he wanted to celebrate by drinking and joking with his twin and their two childhood heroes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters will give us more insight into Fred's mind and I hope you like it ;) Let's see what our cute redhead is thinking and feeling. Leave me some sugar, it keeps me going and helps with writing :D


	26. Change of View

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My darlings, here it is! I'm very proud of myself for finishing in time and publishing exactly after two weeks :)

Fred woke up with a decent hangover and a rush of pride when he realised that he was indeed at Grimmauld Place. Memories of fireworks and a swamp made him grin. And then the memory of brown, bushy curls and sad eyes turned his joy into something bittersweet.

Determined he jumped out of his bed only to discover that George was already up and awake in the kitchen, stuffing himself with pancakes made by Remus. The damn traitor hadn't even tried to wake Fred up, probably because he wanted to eat everything by himself. It reminded Fred oddly of Ron.

"Morning," George grinned. He had always been a morning person and sometimes Fred couldn't believe how two people as different as they could actually be twins. Even if everyone else seemed to think they were practically one mind in two bodies.

Fred grumbled a sleepy reply and grabbed the coffee pot. Oh, how he had missed living with Sirius, the only other person on earth that loved strong coffee as much as Fred. Damn those Brits and their love for tea, which never helped Fred with waking up or calming down. Also, Sirius didn't scold him like his mum did, who deeply believed coffee wasn't good for growing boys. Not that one of the Weasleys needed to grow even more; they were all more than tall enough.

"We got a little something from Mum," George said as he filled Fred's plate with a massive amount of pancakes. "Drink your devils brew fast and eat; this won't be pretty." George nodded towards the end of the table, where a hissing red letter bounced aggressively up and down. And with every second the red got deeper and the hissing louder. Fred cringed.

"They get worse the longer you wait. Why didn't you open it?"

"And let you miss the fun?" George stuck his tongue out. What his twin actually meant was of course ' _if I get yelled at, you get too_ '. Essentially the foundation of their codex of honour and twinness. If one was in trouble both would take the blame, so there could never be a good or a bad twin.

And even though Fred would have gladly let George open this particular howler alone, he knew it was meant for both of them in many ways.

As fast as possible he managed to gulp a pancake down and then solemnly reached for the howler. With wide eyes Sirius and Remus left the kitchen, laughing on their way out. They didn't seem too concerned with the fact that they were the ones hiding Fred and George from their furious mother. Yesterday Fred had been worried for a second that the two Marauders would inform their mum about their whereabouts but they hadn't. And Molly Weasley would have a meltdown if she found out.

With a grin and a nod, Fred ripped open the letter and quickly stuffed his fingers into his ears like George.

**FRED GIDEON AND GEORGE FABIAN WEASLEY! I CAN'T EVEN- HOW DARE YOU! YOU - YOU TWO- DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL?! THE DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY! NO GRADUATION! YOUR FATHER AND I ARE SO DISAPPOINTED**

There was a small break, probably as their mum needed to breathe. Then her voice was back with full force.

**AND SETTING THIS TERRIBLE PRANK LOOSE ON THE POOR STUDENTS! AS IF THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO SUFFER FROM THIS TERRIBLE WOMAN. I CAN'T- I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU. I DON'T HAVE WORDS FOR THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOUR! FOOLISH AND DANGEROUS! YOU TWO WILL COME HOME IMMEDIATELY!**

With a last, loud hiss the howler started to rip itself into pieces. Fred and George stared at each other, equally frightened and amused. Of course, they had known their mother would react like this.

There was only one thing their mum wanted for all of her children. A financially secure life. And for Molly Weasley, the only way to reach this goal was to get good grades, graduate and then take a respectable job. Like their older brothers. Well, if one wanted to count dragon taming and professional theft as respectable jobs… really, only Percy had fulfilled their mum's wish and now he was the one turning his back on the family. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so damn sad.

"Well, she didn't threaten immediate death," Fred shrugged, "so maybe it's not so bad."

"Trying to sugar-coat it?" George sniggered and Fred joined him. There were absolutely convinced they would have a successful life with their shop and therefore had no reason to fear their mum, at least not in the long run. But maybe avoiding her for a few days was still a good idea.

With a grin, George handed Fred another letter. "Bill will meet us at the shop in an hour."

"Excellent," Fred muttered while he shoved another piece of pancake in his mouth. He was eager to start his day. This was the first day of the rest of their lives. Today they would start preparing the shop, getting everything ready, and fulfil their dream.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hours later, it was already early evening, Fred marvelled at their shop. Yes, it was still plain and boring and dusty but he could easily imagine how it would turn out soon. A bit of colour here and there, shelves full of funny, bright products, and tables with advertisements everywhere.

Fred, George and Bill had spent the last few hours with warding the shop and every single room with all kinds of protection spells. Anti-theft spells for the shop in general, of course, spells to keep people from trespassing after opening hours, spells to recognise dark magic or artefacts, and spells to protect if someone attacked the shop. Fred had never thought to have so many protections but Bill had insisted. As Weasleys, blood-traitors, Order members – or at least Fred and George planned to join now that their mother couldn't forbid it any longer – and friends of Harry Potter they were high on the possible list of Death Eater targets.

Plus, there was now a massive amount of other spells and charms in place for every occasion Bill and the twins could think of. The workroom and the stairs to their small flat were warded against anyone entering who wasn't specifically allowed to and again against every dark magic possible. Bill was very throughout with protecting his little brothers.

After all, Bill had always been the oldest brother, the responsible one. Bill had been the one who watched over all his siblings when they were small. Who changed diapers when their mum was busy, cooked them simple meals or kept them entertained on rainy days. Most people only saw the cool guy with the earring, long hair, the dangerous job, and the high-fashion girlfriend but very few knew the Bill, who had more or less raised six children.

"Maybe we should add another one to the workroom," George frowned and Fred picked up the worried glace his twin eyed the dark wood with.

"Something to prevent burning the place down on accident?" Fred joked and shoved George happily.

"Exactly," George grinned and Bill rolled his eyes at them. But he started to set the necessary spells in place anyway and even showed the twins some nifty little spells and charms to handle fire, especially magical fire. Then he added a few more, accident-preventing spells and charms in the shop area and the workroom. Just in case.

Much later the three of them shared a table at the Leaky Cauldron, enjoying a round of butterbeer and a massive amount of stew with bread after their long day. It was a new experience for both Fred and George to sit and joke with their eldest brother like this. Like equals. All of their life Bill was always the oldest brother, the  _responsible_  older brother. But now he laughed about the story of their epic flight from Hogwarts and seemed honestly impressed.

"You know, Mum sent me dozens of letters this morning. She thinks I'm the one hiding you," Bill grinned into his glass.

"That's golden, wait till she hears who's actually hiding us. She will make a fur coat out of him." George said while Bill and Fred both laughed. It wasn't a secret what their mum thought of Sirius Black. She thought him childish and reckless and a bad influence for her own children and Harry. She would have a field day if she ever found out.

"I recommend not telling her," Bill winked, letting the big, responsible brother shine through. "It will be hard enough to convince her to let you join the Order without her being furious with snuffles."

"She can't forbid us from joining." Fred reminded him. "We are of age and out of school. They all said that's what's necessary to become a member."

"Sure, but you're well aware that the out of school condition didn't mean for you to set off on some brooms before graduating." Bill laughed. "Just give Mum time to cool down, bring her some flowers and your best puppy eyes when you visit her, and she will get over it. And maybe in a few weeks, you can mention about joining. Don't spring everything on her at once." Fred and George both nodded knowingly.

Ever since they were little Bill had always given them the same advice.  _Don't spring everything at Mum at once_. Let her digest bad news or troubles they created only one at a time before you confess more bad news. Or get caught in trouble.  _Let her cool down_.

"Okay, Freddie," Bill handed him some coins. "Get us a round of firewhiskey while I take a piss." Fred stared after Bill with wide eyes while George looked equally shocked.

Never – NEVER – had Bill allowed them to drink until now. He was the responsible brother. It had been Charlie who allowed them the first sip of alcohol when they had visited Bill in Egypt. And it had been Charlie who sent them a whole package of firewhiskey for their birthdays ever since they had turned sixteen.

Grinning like a mad man about this new turn of events Fred made his way to the bar. Despite the raising fear of You-Know-Who and the increasing amount of attacks, the Leaky was packed today with patrons enjoying themselves. It seemed like the lies from the Daily Prophet were still able to fool enough people into a false feeling of security.

"Oh, hello there, handsome." Fred was taken by surprise when he stared down at some pretty girl with long black hair and an enchanting smile on her lips.

"I've heard about your great flight from Hogwarts. My brother is a big fan." The girls grinned, her voice had a teasing tone and Fred knew this kind of smile well enough. A flirty smile. A teasing smile. An invitation to flirt a bit and then see where joking and laughing together would bring them. In many cases, it had brought Fred into a quiet, dim corner. And he was sure there were enough corners available at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Yeah, was quite the adventure," he replied with an easy smile and instantly the girl's eyes started to glow. She took a step forward and lightly touched his arm.

"I would love to hear about this adventure. We could drink something and you could tell me all about it?" She smiled winningly and Fred was sure a few months ago he would have jumped at the offer. He would have loved to spend an evening with a pretty girl, who promised more than just a drink and laughter. He would have taken every opportunity to get his mind off Angelina, George and the incredible mess the three of them had made. But it hadn't worked and it would certainly not help him to forget about a certain curly-haired witch.

The work during the day had helped him to push all thoughts of Hermione away for a while but now they were back in full force. And somehow Fred didn't want to forget about it in the arms of another witch.

"Sorry, but I'm here with my brothers tonight. We're having some kind of men's night," he smiled warmly, after all, he didn't want to hurt her and then nodded towards the table where Bill and George were waiting - and staring at them, those gits.

"Sure," The girl smiled, disappointment shimmering through her eyes. "Maybe I will visit you in this shop everyone seems to be talking about." She squeezed his arm lightly and went back to a table full of people in work clothes. Fred realised that this was the first time an older woman had hit on him. He felt a bit flattered but mostly he felt guilty because there was a girl at Hogwarts waiting for an answer he couldn't provide yet.

With a quiet sigh, he took the glasses and returned back to the table, where Bill and George were apparently highly amused by what happened.

"And, you're going to owl her?" Bill grinned.

"Nope, haven't asked for her name," Fred said as he handed his brothers the firewhiskey.

"Really? She seemed fairly interested in you. I heard you weren't one for declining such an offer," Bill waggled his eyebrows. "Ginny was very vocal in her dislike about your conquests during the Christmas Holidays." He added. Fred cursed their little sister but at the same time, he suddenly remembered what else had happened during the Christmas Holidays.

His talk with Hermione, their first kiss. Merlin, he still had no idea why he had kissed her. It had just been natural. She had stood there, trapped under his mistletoe, and his first instinct had been to kiss her free. He had wanted to catch Sirius to show off with the new prank and of course, he would have freed Sirius with the spell but looking at Hermione he had totally forgotten about the alternative….

"Just because a woman hits on me doesn't mean I will jump on it," Fred shrugged. He wanted to change the topic. He couldn't think about Hermione now. Not while he was drinking with his brothers, that wasn't a good combination. He needed time and silence to organise this mess in his heart and his head.

"You mean on her," Bill laughed and George joined him. "And I always thought Charlie was the ladies men in the family."

Fred felt his blood freeze. She had said she had wanted to tell him for a while how she felt about him. How long had this while been? He had never thought about it. What if… what if she had already been in love with him during his playboy phase? She had even caught him once or twice with a girl. Bloody hell, he wished he could kick himself for possibly hurting not one but two girls who were so important to him.

"Well, I still have some impulse control, you gits, no matter what Ginny might think. It was just a phase." He snapped and from one second to the other Bill and George were silent and mustered him with worry.

"Hey, we know that. We were just taking the mickey, why so defensive?" Bill asked, taking a slow sip from his firewhiskey.

"Yeah, it's not like you to be so easily offended," George stated. His twin looked at Fred like he had sprouted horns or something like that. Fred realised how strange his behaviour must seem. Normally he would have made a joke and laughed with them.

"I-" Fred started but he didn't know how to finish this sentence.  _I just realised I hurt a girl who is important to me? A girl I have really complicated feelings for?_

No, he couldn't tell them. It would raise questions and Fred had no idea how to answer them. Bill had no clue about what had happened in the last few months, about Angelina and George. And George didn't know about Hermione, about the kisses and her confession.

Fred wasn't sure why he hadn't told his twin. Maybe he was a bit afraid of what George would say. But mostly not telling George made it somehow okay not to have an answer right now because his twin surely would demand answers.

 _Same applies to you, Granger._ George's words from weeks before ghosted through Fred's mind. George had said it to make clear Hermione was like a sister to him, like Ginny. These words had let to their fight and Hermione's later confession. George liked Hermione. He was protective of her. Maybe he would disapprove of whatever was happening between Fred and her?

"Freddie, you still here with us?" Bill asked with concern in his eyes. George too eyed Fred. He probably knew he was keeping something from him. And sooner or later he would ask Fred about it. But not tonight.

"I'm just knackered from the long day," he finally offered as a weak excuse for his odd behaviour, then he raised his glass for his brothers to clink and they all took a large sip. Fred felt the pleasant burn and decided to tell George soon. There was a lot to do at the shop but sometime they would surely have some free time.

Their evening ended with Fred and George getting wasted again, and Bill laughing about them with Sirius when they stumbled on the stairs towards their room at Grimmauld.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The next morning a second and even more frightening howler arrived from their mum. It made Fred and George realise that maybe this time it wasn't the best strategy to wait a few days and let her cool off. Maybe them staying away and not answering angered her even more.

So now, after a pepper-up-potion from Remus and the advice the duck and run from Sirius, Fred entered the Burrow first, George right behind him and ready to cast a shield charm. After all Ginny hadn't learned her hexes from their dad.

"Mum," Fred called, voice carefully neutral to not evoke more fury.

"You!" With a large cooking spoon in her hand, Molly Weasley bolted around the corner, face red and eyes blazing. "You two, what did you think?" She screeches. Fred was fully prepared to dodge a hex or the spoon when suddenly he felt himself enveloped in a tight embrace, George squished against him by their mum arms.

"What were you thinking? Don't you know how dangerous it is to anger the wrong people? And leaving school without graduating?" His mum actually sobbed into their shoulders and instantly Fred felt even terribly guilty for waiting so long to visit. They should have gone to the Burrow right after leaving Hogwarts.

"We're sorry, Mum," he heard George whisper. Molly nodded against them before she straightened herself again and dragged them into the kitchen.

"Mum, we-"

"Hush, eat something first." With a stern face she presented them some stew – Fred's favourite –, steak and kidney pie – George's favourite – and a banoffee pie. Fred almost abandoned the stew for the pie but he knew better. Their mum wouldn't appreciate eating dessert first.

Banoffee pie was something very special because it was his and George's favourite dessert but their mum didn't make it very often. Since it was a muggle recipe it wasn't part of Molly Weasley's normal repertoire. The Weasley family only knew of this muggle dessert because Fred and George had discovered it in a muggle café in London as children.

Without further question, Fred settled at the large kitchen table and carefully started to enjoy the offered food. This felt like a bit of a trap but maybe it wasn't. Just to be extra careful he tried to mind his table manners even more than usual and saw that George did the same.

"So, now tell me about this… incident." Molly appeared almost too calm and Fred swallowed a large spoon of stew hastily to answer her. Without their normal exaggeration he and George both started to describe how Hogwarts had been in the last few months, especially since Dumbledore had left.

"We couldn't sit there and watch this awful woman terrorise the school," George explained hotly. "We had to do something."

"Yes," Fred agreed equally passionate. They had to make their mum understand. "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes a duty. It's not like we actually broke any real rules, just the crap Umbridge decided."

"More like civil disobedience," George nodded furiously while their mum just sat there, listening and sipping on a cup of tea. Every now and then she nodded a bit but didn't react otherwise. It was very uncommon. Molly Weasley was normally a woman with an explosive temper and her being so calm felt very unsettling.

"Was only a matter of time until we had to get caught," Fred admitted finally and expected his mum to jump at this.

"Well, seems like there was nothing else you could have done," Molly sighed. "I won't lie, I was furious when I got the news. But then Professors McGonagall and Flitwick wrote to me about it. Both assured me that you're outstanding wizards and will certainly do well even without a certificate. Your dad and Bill also don't seem too concerned so I will…" she waved her hand vaguely, "try to stay calm and trust you. There are enough other things to worry about right now than you two leaving school."

With a jump both Fred and George where out of their chairs and hugging their mum tightly. "Thanks, we won't disappoint you," they both whispered. It meant a lot that Molly was at least trying to be supportive. And with time they would prove how successful one could be without finishing school.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The following weeks Fred and George started to dive headfirst into all the work they had to do for the shop. And there was a lot to do.

Three days alone were spent with cleaning up every inch, every little corner, and every last doorknob of the place into shining perfection. It wasn't hard physical work thanks to the nifty cleaning spells of Molly Weasley but still left them exhausted by the end of each day.

And sadly the cleaning-up was not the most boring thing on their ever-growing to-do-list. It was a very, very long to-do-list and every day they tried to work their way through as many bullet points as possible. Every evening they felt proud for their accomplishments and every morning they groaned at the sight of how much was still left to do.

Fred sighed deeply when he looked at the still very long and very boring list. They had crossed off several points, everything went well, really. But it still was so much more work than they had thought when they had made the bloody list. And thank Merlin that had had the sense to make the list in the first place. Thank Merlin they were such throughout planners.

 **o** Fill the shelves

 **o**  but first, buy shelves

 **o** decorate

 **o** open an own account with Gringotts

 **o** buy potion ingredients

 **o** buy owls for the delivery service

 **o** hire staff

 **o** buy a till

 **o** buy a promotion spot at the Prophet

 **o** buy furniture for the new flat – or literally everything else one would need as a normal human being, like kitchen stuff…

 **o** buy wrapping paper

 **o** …

The list went on and on and on with things to do or to buy. A lot of things to buy. They would need to hurry up with the owl delivery service to get some money in. The money from Harry's win at the Triwizard Tournament was mostly gone by now. Spend on creating and testing new products. At least the orders were coming in steadily and in big numbers.

"I regret our decision not to involve Mum," Fred finally admitted when he looked from the list to George, who was stretched out on the floor of the flat.

"We could give her a bit of gold and permission to furnish the flat. She would be through with it in one day." And she would know what to buy and where. Molly had actually offered her help after their visit but Fred and George had been adamant that they could do everything alone. It was about proving that they knew what they were doing and didn't need help. They wanted to prove leaving school hadn't been a bad idea. They were idiots. They had no idea how to equip a whole flat.

They were still living at Grimmauld Place with Sirius like real Order members. Which they were now. It had been a though, heated discussion with their mum, Kingsley, and Sirius. With Remus, Bill and their Dad acting as peacemakers, which probably was the toughest job in the Order. In the end, there had been no reason to deny them the membership and now Fred and George were allowed to the meetings. And eventually, they would even get their own missions.

"Probably, but then we would have to deal with her fretting about everything we do and…" The end of George's sentence got lost in an enormous yawing. Fred sighed again. Buying furniture would have to wait, tomorrow maybe. Sooner or later they would have to move out of Grimmauld, even if Sirius seemed to enjoy having them there.

It took them two more weeks to do all the mundane, boring organising stuff one had to do when you wanted to open the store. But at least they made progress. They had hired their first employee Verity, a nice witch a few years older than them, and Lee had already offered to help with the shop after his graduation.

The grand opening was planned for the first day of the Summer holidays when hopefully all the children had gotten their pocket money and were eager for some holiday entertainment. Fred looked forward to it more than he had anticipated. It felt like a part of his life was finally starting now and he was eager to see what the future might hold. And after the opening, he would finally write Hermione.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

It was another late night for Fred and George when the news arrived. They were finally able to work on stocking the shelves with their products since the workroom was fully furnished. After all this organising stuff it felt like heaven just to stand in front of a cauldron again.

Fred brushed a hand through his hair in an attempt to get the fatigue out of his system. It was probably closer to sunrise than to sundown by now. George yawned and immediately Fred did the same. Damn.

"Maybe we should call it a day and get some rest," he suggested to his twin. George only gave a weak nod and they started to prepare the potions for the night. Stasis charms for the unfinished ones, putting out the fires, and so on. Fred did everything without spending a thought; he knew the order even in his sleep. Which was good because he already was half-asleep.

Suddenly a very bright, white light shook him out of his weariness. He recognised the weasel Patronus of his father immediately and freezing fear grabbed his heart. It had been only a week since the first Order meeting Fred and George had attended when Kingsley had explained to them how the members could communicate with Patronus messages. And that they only used it when nothing else was safe or there was a great danger.

_There was an incident at the Ministry. Come to Hogwarts, Bill is waiting for you at the hospital wing._

The voice of his father had given nothing away. He had sounded calm, almost too calm. With wide eyes, Fred looked at George, who seemed equally shocked. A second later they moved as one, both jumping up and grabbing their jackets before they sprinted out of the door to get to the next apparition point. George had the sense to lock the shop before they both vanished with a loud pop.

The walk from Hogsmeade to the castle seemed endless to Fred and he felt the restlessness in George as well. Side by side they entered the dark castle and ran towards the hospital wing. It felt strange to be back at Hogwarts so shortly after leaving it. Especially in the middle of the night with most students sleeping peacefully in their beds. If he would go to Gryffindor Tower now everything would be the same as ever. Lee would be sleeping in their dorm room, probably snoring and speaking in his sleep. There would be a dim fire in the common room.

Every further thought left him when they stepped into the large hospital room and saw Bill, sitting beside a bed with silent worry on his face. That couldn't be good. Bill shouldn't look so worried. He was the oldest, never before had he shown any sign of stress or nervousness in front of them before. It took everything from Fred not to run towards the bed when he spotted the red hair and the sleeping face of their baby brother.

"Good, you're here," Bill sighed when he saw them but still smiled. He wanted to look strong and calm, Fred realised.

"What happened?" Fred sank down on a chair opposite from Bill, George taking a seat beside him.

"Is he okay?"

"Ron is fine. Madame Pomfrey gave him some sleep potion and she says he will be right as rain in the morning."

"And what about these?" Fred pointed at the thick bandages around Ron's arm. "What the hell happened, Bill? Was there an attack on the school? Or was it that pink monster?"

"I swear if this is her idea of punishment for students…" George growled and Fred nodded along. If Umbridge had laid only a finger on their brother they would break havoc faster than she could scream Fudge. They would probably only half an hour to really break hell loose. The old toad wouldn't even know what hit her.

"No, no it has nothing to do with Umbridge." Bill sighed again. "Last night Harry and some of his friends went to the Ministry," Bill started. Right, their father had mentioned something about the Ministry in his message.

"And of course Ron was with him," George rolled his eyes. How typical for their brother to get himself hurt while trying to help Harry.

"And Hermione too," Fred added, hoping it sounded casual. Where Harry and Ron were, Hermione was not far away. The only time Fred remembered the two boys having one of their dangerous adventures without Hermione had been when she had been petrified by the basilisk three years ago.

"Yes, and Ginny, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood." Bill paused when he saw their shocked faces. Not only Ron but Ginny too?

"The three of them are fine. They had some minor injuries but Pomfrey fixed them up already and sent them to bed. It seems like Harry had a vision, like back then when she saw Dad being attacked by this snake in the Ministry. Harry thought Sirius was at the Ministry, being tortured by You-Know-Who."

"So, they went on a rescue mission?" Fred wanted to be angry at Harry for being so irresponsible but he knew he would have done the same. But still, the fact that two of his siblings had been in danger…

"Yes, they couldn't contact anyone from the Order with McGonagall in the hospital, Dumbledore gone, and Snape, well, they didn't seem to count on him. Thing is, Sirius was never in danger." Bill retold the story as far as he knew. How Ginny had used their prank to get Harry inside Umbridge's office and how they had been caught. How Hermione and Harry went to the forbidden forest with Umbridge, leaving the woman there. And how they had fought Death Eaters at the Ministry before You-Know-Who personally appeared.

"Harry is with Dumbledore right now and…" Bill stopped, apparently trying to think of what to say next. He looked devastated. "Sirius went with the other Order members to rescue Harry, of course, he did. He… didn't make it. He died fighting Bellatrix Lestrange. I don't know what happened exactly, there was no body."

A thousand questions were thundering through Fred's head. But he wasn't able to form the words. It had been bad when Cedric Diggory had died last year. It had affected so many students to see someone so young had died and Fred, even though he had never liked the pretty boy, had thought about Cedric more than once during the last year. But Sirius… Sirius was different. Sirius was someone he admired, a good man who had endured terrible things in his life. A brave man. The last connection to Harry's dead parents.

Fred and George had only moved out from Grimmauld Place last night. Sirius had helped them pack. The older man had been excited for them and their adventure but had also seemed incredibly sad at the prospect of living alone again. They had promised to visit often. Now they wouldn't be another chance to visit Sirius Black, a brave man and good friend.

He wanted to know how it had happened but before Fred or George could ask more question the curtain to one of the other beds opened. To Fred's surprise, Angelina stepped outside, exposing a flash of brown curls before she carefully closed the curtains behind her. Beside him, George made a rather strange noise, something between a surprised yelp and frightened whine.

"Oh, hello," Angelina seemed equally surprised but offered a shy smile. Well, Angelina acknowledging their existence was a major improvement.

"Hi Angie," he tried to smile but the knowledge that Hermione was probably behind this curtain with an uncertain medical condition made him restless.

"Uhm hello," George stammered. Fred could have hit his twin for being so damn awkward. Merlin, they knew this girl since the first year and despite everything that had happened George should be able to at least greet her normally. But to his surprise, Angelina didn't fare better. She bit her lip nervously at George's greeting and quickly averted her eyes.

Bill shot them both curious glances and then turned to Angelina. "How's Hermione?"

"She's fine," Angelina started. "Still sleeping. I'm afraid she will have to stay a while longer. That curse was right nasty and did some damage to her internal organs. She's out of danger but it will take a few weeks until everything is all healed up. I will-" she gestured towards the small office of Madame Pomfrey, "I need to speak with Madame Pomfrey about Hermione's treatment."

"It was nice to see you, Angie, and thanks for helping Hermione," Fred tried a smile. Angelina just raised her eyebrows at him, a strange look in her eyes. Determined not to let this become too awkward Fred stomped lightly on George's foot, urging him to say something.

"Yeah, it was really nice seeing you," George said softly, the words loaded with so much subtext that Fred almost cringed. This had to end. George and he were smooth, cool guys who always had a smart reply on their lips. Acting like this was pathetic and it needed to end. Fred renewed his vow to lock the two of them in a cupboard together.

As soon as Angelina closed the door to the office behind her, George groaned heavily. "What is she doing here?"

"Pomfrey introduced Angelina as her assistant. It seems she wants to go into healer training after graduation and is getting her first practical experiences here." Bill turned to them with a slightly amused smirk. He was visibly more relaxed now that everyone was out of danger.

"Anything you want to tell me?" He winked. "I sensed a bit of awkwardness between you two, George? And maybe also with you, Fred? Are you both involved? I thought you didn't take after our uncles?" Fred let out a burst of small laughter. Oh no, they were nothing like their uncles.

George and Fabian Prewett had been identical twins like Fred and George but they had also been soulmates with each other- and with a woman. A triad, their mother had called it. It was rare even among identical twins and as children Fred and George had always hoped they would share a soulmate like their uncles. It had been a big disappointment when they had discovered they weren't soulmates.

"Oh no, we aren't," Fred shook his head. "There is just something really complicated going on with Georgie and Angelina, long story."

"Well, Mum wants us to wait here until she and Dad come back from a meeting with Kingsley and Lupin, so we have time. Maybe I can help you?" There he was, the responsible older brother. Always trying to help them.

"Brilliant idea," Fred nodded. "George, tell him. I'm going to look after Miss Granger for a moment." Bill and George protested loudly against his plan. Well, as loud as possible with two sleeping, sick persons in the room. Bill because he thought it wasn't appropriate to sneak behind the curtain and George because he didn't want to be left alone to tell their story. Fred ignored them both and slit smoothly behind the white curtain.

The sight knocked all air out of his lungs.

Hermione was pale and seemed unbelievably frail, laying there in the stark white hospital bed. Her dark curls were spread like a halo around her head but it only made her appear paler. Her face was sickly white, the veins around her eyelids shining through, and her lips were a dark purple. That couldn't be normal. Then Fred saw her chest.

Hermione was covered with the duvet but her shoulders were free and naked. From the rim of the duvet, he could see the same thick, white bandages that covered Ron. Only that it seemed like Hermione's whole upper body safe for her arms was covered. That really must have been a nasty hex.

Fred took a shaky step and sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at Hermione's even breathing for a while to convince himself that she was alright. She had to be alright. Angelina had said so. Madame Pomfrey was a good healer. Hermione would be alright! She had to… He thought about taking her hand – he wanted to touch her – but didn't do it. He just sat there. Staring at her pale face, hoping she would open her eyes.

And the longer he looked at her pale, sleeping face the more his stomach knotted itself together in a tight and painful mess. Sirius died tonight. Hermione could have died too. She could have died without ever getting the answer she wanted and here he was still not an ounce smarter. He still had no idea what he felt despite a painful fear of losing her.

"Fred?" The soft voice of George behind him shook Fred out of his stupor. His twin was standing behind him with a shocked and sad expression on his face as he looked at Hermione.

"Mum and Dad are back. There will be an Order meeting shortly at the Burrow." Fred nodded mechanically and stood up, stretching his stiff limbs and neck. He had sat there longer than he thought. He heard the curtains moving behind him and knew that George was gone. With a sudden burst of bravery, he bowed done and gave Hermione a lingering kiss on the forehead. Then he stepped outside.

Bill and George were waiting with their parents at the entrance, all of them in deep conversation with Madame Pomfrey and Professor Sprout. Probably something about Ron and Hermione and their treatments. Fred was about to join them when he saw Angelina staring at him. There was something odd in the way she looked at him. Like she waited for something to happen? Yes, she looked a bit curious. Fred tore his eyes away from her. Right now he had neither the time nor the mind to think about Angelina and their complex and confusing past. His mind was racing with questions about what had happened in the Ministry. And about Hermione. He knew right away that the image of her laying in this bed, pale and unconscious, would hound him in his sleep forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all know the feeling of getting a mail with an update for a story you really like? This wonderful, unique excitement? That's how I feel when I get reviews. So, leave me some sugar ;) (And not only me, review all the writers out there because they deserve it!)
> 
> The quote "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty" isn't from me. It's from the German author Berthold Brecht.


	27. Chapter 26 - A New Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm proud to finish this chapter in time because I had a rather hard time writing it. I got a not so nice review about this story on Tumblr and it got me into an overthinking mood where you question every words and plotline... Honestly, it made me really insecure. But the review stated clearly that it was a personal view on not liking some parts of the story so I tried not to take it personally and managed to end this chapter on time.
> 
> A lot of things are happening in this chapter but it might feel like a filler. I'm working on setting up the necessary plotlines for the next few chapters. I have great things planned for the sixth year ;) I hope you like it and leave me some sugar.
> 
> In celebration for having our first anniversary with this story, this chapter is extra long!
> 
> And I want to thank a special person: Moonfairy13, who really has become a great friend and writing partner in the last year. Check our her Fremione stories :D

A purple flash of light. Burning. Hurting. A stabbing pain. Like a knife. No, burning. Like a flame. No, stabbing. Knife. Burning fire.

Then, nothing. Peaceful dullness. And maybe sleep? Unconsciousness! A part of her mind panicked as she drifted off. Losing herself was dangerous. But everything was better than this pain. Unbearable. Burning. Stabbing.

_Harry! I have to help Harry!_

With a jolt, Hermione came back to herself. Panic running through her veins. Her whole body ached. Dolohov! Dolohov had cursed her. She willed her eyes to open and tried to sit up. A sharp pain in her chest made her wince.

"Easy," someone pushed Hermione gently back into a soft cushion. "You shouldn't move too fast."

"What are you doing here? And where am I? We were at the ministry when..." Angelina smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Where's Harry? And Ron, and…" Hermione felt like her mind was racing as fast as the Hogwarts Express and seeing Angelina by her bedside confused her only further.

"Easy, Hermione," Angelina slowly stroked her hair. "You're back at Hogwarts, in the infirmary. Dumbledore and some other people got you all out of the Ministry. I don't know much. I'm only here because I'm doing an internship with Madame Pomfrey right now. Harry is fine, he's probably already back in his dorm by now, and everyone else too. Only Ron is here, he's resting."

Only now did Hermione realise that there was another bed occupied. A vibrant redhead glowed in the dark. "Ron!" Again she wanted to jump up but Angelina held her back. This was probably for the best because even the small movement inflicted a stabbing pain in her chest.

"Hermione, you really shouldn't move right now." Angelina scolded her softly. "You were cursed and we're still not sure what kind of curse it was. But it did a number on you." Hermione vaguely recognised the worry in Angelina's voice but seeing Ron in a hospital bed was too disturbing for her to remain calm. She pushed the realisation about her own pain back with force.

"What's with Ron? Is he well? What happened?" A flash of memories from the Ministry almost overwhelmed Hermione. It had been a trap. They had lured Harry into the Ministry to get something, a prophecy. Sirius hadn't been there and then they had been outnumbered by Death Eaters. They had lost each other in the chaos and then… the purple flash and nothing. Hermione had no idea how they made it out. The memory of Lucius Malfoy threatening them and Bellatrix Lestrange's crazy laughter was still so fresh in her mind.

"I don't know what happened exactly but apparently Ron was attacked by something in the Ministry. Something not... human, from one of these rooms in the Department of Mysteries. But Ron's fine. Pomfrey gave him something to sleep and aside from a few scars there is no lasting damage. He will be released tomorrow." She threw Hermione a sharp gaze. "You will have to stay a little longer. So, do me and yourself a favour and don't make it worse."

"Okay," Hermione finally sank back into her bed, into the soft pillows, and allowed herself to take a few deep breaths. She felt the pain in her chest clearly now that her mind had calmed down. With every up and down of her lungs, there was a sharp pain from the middle of her chest. Where the curse had probably hit her. She wasn't sure. The last thing she remembered was seeing the purple light. She must have fallen unconscious immediately. Hermione realised that her chest was wrapped in thick bandages. But the knowledge that her friends had made it out alive and relatively unhurt helped to calm her down.

"I didn't know you want to become a healer, always thought you would be a Quidditch pro one day," Hermione said it mainly to distract herself further from the pain but also for the sake of just saying something. Angelina had been the last person she would have expected to see when waking up in the hospital wing and it felt odd sitting here together. Hermione had so many questions but she couldn't ask Angelina, only Harry and maybe Ron would be able to tell her what else had happened at the Ministry.

"Well, there are some try-outs soon and I will try my luck but a girl needs a career afterwards too, right?" Angelina tried to joke but her smile quickly turned into something sad.

"But the truth is I realised we're living in dangerous times and I want to do something to help. I want to do something useful and being a healer is the best thing I can imagine. A year ago I would have wanted a career in the Auror department, I'm a wicked dualist after all, but after witnessing Umbridge and how corrupt the Ministry is… No, I think a healer is where I can help the most. Besides, I was always fairly good with potions and spells. I have an interview with St. Mungo's next month."

Hermione had her eyes closed, carefully listening to Angelina's voice so that she wouldn't concentrate on her pain too much. It sounded like Angelina had made her decision after thinking about it very throughout.

"And you know," Angelina paused shortly. "I already found a way to help. Or it found me. Dumbledore asked me to help with whatever he is doing. He says they're always in need of healers and as soon as I finish my first year I can join."

"That's… very brave, Angelina. And very noble, I just wish we wouldn't live in a world where people have to give up their dreams to fight in a war." The pain in Hermione's chest was still very present and very overwhelming. With small tears in her eyes, Hermione remembered that countless people had already died in this war. Harry's parents, who had also been so young and brave and noble… They had married right after school, only 18 years old. The same age as Angelina was now.

"You should sleep a bit, Hermione," Angelina handed her a small vial. "Take some rest." Thankful Hermione emptied the potion and instantly felt sleep creeping up on her. She was glad for losing consciousness this time, the pain ebbed away and her exhausted mind began to rest.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Angelina had been right. Hermione indeed had to spend a few weeks at the hospital wing till Madame Pomfrey was satisfied with the status of her health. Hermione had to take several potions every day at different times and she would probably have to continue taking them even during the summer holidays. Hermione had no idea how she could explain that to her parents. Or the ugly, purple scar on her chest. Madame Pomfrey had promised it would fade if Hermione took her potions dutifully but it would probably never go away completely.

But Hermione pushed the worries about her parents away for now and decided it would be more important to concentrate on Harry. He had visited her and Ron in the hospital wing the morning after the Ministry and told them everything. What had happened after Hermione had been cursed and Ron had been attacked by brains.

Hermione had waited with crying for Sirius until Ron and Harry had left her for dinner that day, she hadn't wanted to upset Harry even more. Hermione felt such a raw and deep pain about the loss of Sirius. They hadn't been that close but he had had an important role in her life. She had helped save his life once and it hurt Hermione to know that he had still lost it in the end. He had told her about James and Lily… he had given her advice. And he had deserved to live a long, happy life after all the hardship and loss and grieve.

The following weeks at the infirmary were slowly grating on Hermione. She was annoyed and wanted out. She hated being confined to her bed and not being able to attain classes or be with her friends. Or simply do something. Merlin, she was bored.

Even though Ron and Harry spend every free minute with her and always brought her plenty of books, she itched to leave the hospital bed. Ginny also visited but always when her brother and Harry weren't there. She claimed that they needed proper girl times without  _those two bloody idiots_ , which of course meant Ginny wanted to talk about things that made Ron explode. Like boys.

Right now the redheaded girl was lazing on Hermione's bed and kept her occupied with the latest school gossip. Ginny had also brought Hermione's favourite sweets from the kitchens.

"Michael is now dating Cho Chang." Ginny was very casual about it and Hermione only raised her eyebrows. Hermione would have bet everything that Ginny would be delighted about Cho dating someone else.

Towards Michael Corner, she was spectacularly indifferent since their equally spectacular break-up.

Not many had witnessed how after the Quidditch match Gryffindor against Ravenclaw Michael had more or less accused Ginny of not loving him because she hadn't let Ravenclaw win. It had been ridiculous. But the best was how Ginny had just smirked at Michael and told him to bugger off because if that was his definition of love then yes, she really didn't love him. Her words had been accompanied by throwing a large firecracker dangerously close to his head. Hermione had been equally horrified and amused and thought that Fred and George would be very proud of their younger sister if they knew about this.

"Dean Thomas asked me for a date," Ginny suddenly mentioned equally casual, pushing the emerging thought about Fred temporarily out of Hermione's mind. It was easier not to think about him anyway right now.

"I said yes." And now a slight blush tinted Ginny's face and Hermione grinned. Dean had flirted with Ginny since her break-up from Michael – thankfully not in the presence of Ron – and Ginny already had a small crush on the boy. Hermione was very pleased with the fact that this time Ginny actually had some feelings for a boy she wanted to date. Michael Corner really had been only a way to forget Harry and it had failed gloriously. But with Dean, it seemed to be different. Dean was nice and funny and Ginny was genuinely crushing in him.

Just as Hermione wanted to ask more Angelina stepped through the curtains with a large bowl of water, some fresh bandages and the lotion Madame Pomfrey had mixed to sooth the purple scar.

"Hermione, Madam Pomfrey asked me to do your bandages today. Is that okay?"

For a moment Hermione found no fault in letting Angelina do it. She trusted the older girl and during her time in the hospital wing they had formed a special friendship which was growing stronger every day. She liked joking with Angelina during her shift. For three hours every day, in the late afternoon right before dinner, Angelina watched the hospital wing when Madame Pomfrey had other tasks somewhere in the castle.

But then Hermione remembered that changing the bandage entailed getting her whole upper body naked in front of Angelina and, while she had no problem with the nakedness itself, it would surely show her soul mark.

"Um, I think I'd rather have Madame Pomfrey do it when she's back," Hermione muttered. She felt childish and stupid for such a request especially since she wouldn't normally object if it wasn't for the damn mark.

_Why even hide it from Angelina?_  The fleeting thought crossed her mind just as Angelina raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"If you really want that, no problem. But if it's about the mark then you should know that I already saw it the night you were brought in. I had to help Madame Pomfrey with the first aid treatment and saw it." Angelina declared casually while she set the water bowl on the small nightstand.

Hermione saw from the corner of her eye how Ginny gaped at Angelina with an open mouth, while a hot blush crept up Hermione's face and chest. She felt like she had been caught red-handed and had no idea what to say in her defence. Angelina just sat down and motioned for Hermione to take off her sweater. Hermione didn't even try to resist or argue or lie and just pulled the cloth off.

"You know," Angelina said as she carefully started to loosen up the old bandages, "at first I didn't know what to think. I mean, I knew what it meant from the moment I saw it. But it made no sense to me since you could have just told me about the mark when we were talking back then after  _they_ left. But you didn't even though I bared my deepest fears to you. I was confused and to be honest, I was also very angry. I felt betrayed."

"Angeli-"

"And," Angelina interrupted Hermione with a smile, working her way through the thick white gauze. "I grew even further confused when Fred and George visited Hogwarts that night with Bill." Hermione and Ginny exchanged a quick glance, both surprised by that news. They hadn't known Fred, George and Bill had been at the castle that night but they said nothing. It had probably been an Order thing.

"Fred was incredibly worried about you," Angelina smiled. "He spent nearly an hour at your bedside, just staring at you. It took all of my self-control not to ask him about the mark. But then I thought, what if Fred doesn't know?" Hermione blushed even further. Her stomach did a stupid little flip at the news of Fred being worried about her and a warm feeling spread through her chest. Ginny threw Hermione a wink.

"Yes, he doesn't know," Hermione admitted with a stupid little grin on her face. "I found out when you two were still a couple and I had no idea what to do. And afterwards, well, Fred had other troubles." She shrugged but both Ginny and Angelina rolled her eyes about her naming Fred's escapades  _troubles_.

"Don't laugh about it," she scolded them lightly. "He was having troubles. What happened between you and him also hurt him, Angelina, and I wanted him to sort it out before I tell him about the mark."

"Yeah, I get that." Angelina now started to apply the lotion to Hermione's chest, coating the purple scar thickly. "I sat here for hours that night trying to make sense of everything and then you woke up, confused and hurt and afraid. After that, I decided that I need to face Fred. We really need to talk about what happened."

"And then maybe you can hook up with the right twin," Ginny winked and for a moment Hermione feared Angelina would be hurt since she already had had such a guilty conscience about  _choosing_ the wrong twin. But to her relief, Angelina only laughed.

"Yes, yes, maybe," the older girl grinned. "Maybe if George regains the ability to talk to me one day. When they visited it was a bit forced and awkward and I really don't know how to change that." The grin turned a bit sad and Angelina started to wrap the fresh bandaged around Hermione's chest. It was odd how their conversation was more intimate than the touching.

"You could always march into this shop and just jump the man," Ginny suggested with a mischievous expression. "I'm pretty sure George wouldn't put up a fight." They all laughed about the idea but Hermione wasn't sure if Angelina wouldn't actually do it. Maybe she wouldn't jump George but there was a high chance she would actually march into the shop where he had no way to hide from her.

"Angelina, thanks for not telling Fred about the mark. And for not being angry with me." Hermione said as she pulled her sweater back over her head.

"Nonsense, of course not! After all this drama we already had with these damn marks it would be foolish to be angry at you. It's actually more surprising that you aren't angry at me for snogging and being touchy with your soulmate," Angelina cringed. "Sorry, it didn't sound so crass in my head."

"Nah," Hermione waved her concern away. "I could never be angry at you. But please don't tell anyone," she urged. "I'm not ready for Fred to know… I-"

"You like him?" Angelina prompted and Hermione just nodded.

"Are you in love with him?" Again she gave a little nod.

"Does he know?" Now Angelina's eyed widened comically when Hermione nodded again. Ginny snickered beside them.

"You told him you're in love with him but not that you're his soulmate? That's incredibly brave… and incredibly stupid. Fred believes in the special bond between soulmates, why didn't you tell him?"

"I," Hermione shrugged. "I didn't want him to only look my way because of the mark."

_I didn't want to be like you, Angelina,_  but Hermione could never say that out loud. She would never hurt her friend intentionally.

"I told him a few weeks before he and George left… we didn't have contact since. I wasn't sure if he wanted me to write and Umbridge would have confiscated the letters anyway."

"And the bloody git didn't think to write to you? Oh, now I will surely storm that little shop and kick both of their arses." Angelina seemed ready to be as outraged about this as Ginny was every time Hermione had to admit that she hadn't heard from Fred. Merlin, now she had two nosy friends with little impulse control.

"He will when he's ready, I'm sure," Hermione appeased her friends and then lead the conversation into safer waters by asking Ginny about Dean's invitation. Thankfully Angelina seemed interested enough to let the topic of Fred go and they spent the remaining afternoon with nice, senseless chatter until Harry and Ron arrived with her daily delivery of books and sweets.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The carriages arrived at the same time at the train station in Hogsmeade as the little boats carrying the graduating seventh years.

Every time Hermione saw those little boats she remembered her first day at Hogwarts. How excited she had been. How curious and eager to study magic. And now she watched how Angelina, Alicia and Lee exiting a boat together, laughing and with excited grins on their faces like they were first-years again. A pang of sadness coursed through Hermione's chest. Fred and George should be with them. This should be their graduation too.

As the carriages came to a stop Hermione was more than happy that she still wasn't able to see the thestrals carrying them. She hadn't seen how Sirius had vanished behind the veil. Unconsciously Hermione touched her chest. Madame Pomfrey had allowed her to remove the bandages but she still needed to take the lotion and several potions daily. But at least the scar was already slowly fading.

Around her students of all grades were walking towards the red Hogwarts Express, the younger ones running with happy laughter. Hermione felt another pang in her chest at the thought of children being glad to leave Hogwarts. But after a year like this, she understood that everyone wanted to be home with their families. This year they had survived the terror reign of Dolores Umbridge. They had gotten the ultimate proof that Voldemort really was back. Being with family was probably a comfort for most students at this point. Hermione instead pushed all thoughts about her parents aside for now.

"Hermione!" Ron urged her to enter the train with him and Harry. Neville, Luna and Ginny were already waiting inside.

They spent the next few hours together in a carriage chatting and playing exploding snap, just enjoying the last hours of being together. Their little group was connected by the incident at the Ministry and Hermione felt a special sort of melancholy leaving Hogwarts this year. It had always been bittersweet for her to leave Hogwarts, the place where she learnt the most fantastic things, but she had always looked forward to seeing her parents. This year she dreaded it because she had no idea how she could explain the scar on her chest without scaring them.

Hermione was doing her last prefect round on the train, urging the first year to change their clothes when someone called after her. Angelina was running towards Hermione through the halls of the train and pulled her into an empty compartment. Then she gave her a fierce hug.

"I will make sure Fred gets his head out of his arse, okay?" Angelina grinned, handing Hermione a little piece of parchment. "And here is my address, write to me."

"Of course," Hermione hugged her friend again. "And tell me if George also needs a kick." She winked.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

After all the organising stuff was sorted out Fred and George finally had time again to do what they loved the most. Brewing, inventing and stocking the shelves. Well, right now it was mostly stocking the shelves for the opening in a few, short weeks.

Fred was in the middle of brewing a batch of Amortentia when George came into their brand-new workroom while waving a small envelope enthusiastically.

"Got owl post from Lee," George grinned happily. "He will be here for the grand opening."

"Brilliant, it wouldn't be same without him," Fred smiled as he looked at the messy loops Lee called a handwriting. Thank Merlin they knew each other for so long and had copied homework from Lee often enough to read the scribble. Fred felt excitement roar through his body.

They would have a blast at the opening. They had prepared several special products just for the occasion and had set the date strategically. They would open shortly after the students got their Hogwarts letters and would need to visit Diagon Alley anyway. That way they could the most out of the summer business. The young students would hopefully be eager to spend their pocket money on pranks and knickknacks for the new school year and some parents hopefully wouldn't be able to resist buying them some more.

With a hum, Fred turned back to his cauldron. Right on time he added the last ingredient for the love potion and watched how the colour changed. The mother-of-pearl-sheen appeared and the steam started to rise in characteristic spirals. Fred always loved this part best. When a potion was ready and you could finally see if everything had been done right. He always thought potion brewing was a bit like a surprise because the result was only visible at the end when it was too late to save the brew. It added a bit of excitement into the work. And it gave him immense satisfaction when the potion was well done.

Happy with the result he took a deep breath and wasn't surprised when he saw George doing the same. Enjoying the scent was the best thing about brewing the love potion.

"Hm, banoffee pie," George almost purred and Fred nodded along. It was the one thing they both smelled in the potion. Their all-time favourite banoffee pie. It reminded them both of all the happy memories of their childhood in the Burrow.

Next Fred smelled leather, something he associated with his Quidditch gear. It was the scent of a game starting soon. The scent of excitement mixed with slight nervousness. It was a scent that rushed adrenaline through his body and made his heart beat faster. It was also the scent of summers spent at the Burrow, playing with his siblings, and training at Hogwarts in the blazing heat.

But the last thing surprised Fred. Till now he had always smelled parchment as a third component. Which had always been kind of a puzzle to him because he didn't like books or writing or studying that much. Sure, he spent more time at the library than everyone thought, but he didn't particularly like it.

But now he didn't smell parchment anymore. Now it was something… fruity? No, more like citrus. Fred couldn't identify the new fragrance. It could be citrus or orange or maybe lime. And even though he couldn't identify it he knew exactly where he had smelled this fragrance. His thoughts wandered to the memory of Hermione laying in a white hospital bed, her face pale, his lips lingering on her forehead. Her hair had smelled like citrus despite the hell she had lived through on this day.

Fred's heart constricted painfully.

Thanks to the Order he knew Hermione was fine and that her wounds had healed perfectly. But he still dreamed of her unconscious body lying in this bed. More often than not he awoke in the middle of the night with a racing heart. And still, he hadn't contacted her… something was keeping him from doing it. Like an invisible wall standing between him and his feelings, making him oddly detached from himself. Sometimes Fred thought be might be afraid but he wasn't sure of what. He already knew what Hermione felt for him, there was no real reason to hesitate.

"I thought I was the only one of us to get sad by smelling Amortentia," George said. He leaned against the work table, surveying his twin. "I hate how pathetic you look right now; mainly because that means I probably look the same. We can't look pathetic that's not our style."

George had a sad, bittersweet expression of longing on his face and Fred knew why. George smelled banoffee pie, snow, and cinnamon. George had always loved winter and snow best, while Fred strived for sun and warmth. It was the cinnamon which turned the potion bittersweet for George. It was the smell of the lotion Angelina used for her skin. A fragrance Fred had become closely familiar with, which now only served as a reminder for what had happened. He cringed at the memory.

When they had first brewed Amortentia at the beginning of their sixth year – with Snape looming over them like a bat, probably waiting for something to explode – Fred had eagerly waited to smell something that would show him that Angelina was indeed  _the one_. Instead, it had been George who smelled her scent. Another reason why Fred had waited so long to ask her out. Merlin, in retrospective it all seemed so clear and obvious and he wanted to kick his past self for not seeing the red warning flags sooner. But it was too late now.

Fred sighed. He wished so desperately all of this would have never happened. The world would be so much easier.

"My Amortentia changed," he finally admitted. "I don't smell parchment anymore, it's something citrus now. I'm sure I know it and it smells really good and… well, I'm not sure what to do with that." Fred felt the uncertainty of the situation creep into every corner of his brain, his heart, his lungs. His body went stiff with the realisation that his feelings for Hermione were deep enough to change his Amortentia.

"You have a new girl? Is that why you rejected that gorgeous bird at the Leaky?" George smiled genuinely, no teasing in his voice, and Fred flushed. Eyes as dark as espresso and equally intense flashed through his mind. The memory of feeling silken curls while kissing her in the library made his fingertips tingle.

"No," he tried to lie but he knew it was too late. Fred was a good liar, as was George, and from time to time they could even lie to each other with enough preparation. When they wanted to play a prank on each other. Or when George had lied to Fred about being okay with him dating Angelina. But right now Fred was busted, the fat grin on George's face told him.

"Soooo," George leaned against the brand-new work table. "A new girl and you don't tell me about it? I'm hurt. I thought I was your favourite twin."

"Git, you're my only twin," Fred rolled his eyes. "And there is nothing to tell. Someone confessed to me before we left Hogwarts and that's it. Nothing happened."

_Nothing aside from two kisses he couldn't explain even if he wanted to_.

"Her-" He mentally kicked himself for almost mentioning her name. "She's still waiting for an answer and I don't have one yet." Fred exhaled. It felt good to finally tell George about it. Or at least parts of it.

"Why's that? You either like her or you don't, what's there to think about?" George made it sound easy but it wasn't. It really, really wasn't.

Fred took in a sharp breath, fully prepared for any reaction George could possibly have, and started to tell him everything about what had happened. About the kiss at Christmas. The kiss in the library. And Hermione's confession and their deal.

A part of him was afraid of George's reaction. Maybe he would laugh, thinking it ridiculous that Hermione liked him. Or maybe he wouldn't believe that someone as brilliant as Hermione could like him. Or maybe George would be angry about Fred not telling him sooner. Maybe he would yell.

Or maybe he would just stare at Fred like a stupid goldfish and say nothing. Like he did when Fred actually finished.

"Would you please say something?" Fred pleaded.

"I would love to but I don't know what. How-" George changed his sitting position nervously. "How did this happen? And why did I not notice?"

"No offence, but you were pretty busy with your own heartbreak and hiding from Angelina." Fred shrugged and George made a little whining sound. "But that's okay. Didn't want to talk about it anyway. It's a bloody complicated situation. I like Hermione but…"

"Bloody hell, yes it is complicated. Fred..." George rubbed his temples. "You can't... Hermione is not one of the girls at Hogwarts who have a crush on you. She's not a fling for a month or two. She can't be. She's... close to us. Like family."

"I know that! Have a little bit more trust in me, okay?" Fred almost yelled. He needed his brother right now and he needed George to give him actual, helpful advice.

"That's why it isn't so simple as deciding between liking her or not. It's about deciding if I want a serious, real relationship. It's about deciding if I like her enough to love her. I can't just  _like_ Hermione, I have to be sure and that's what makes everything complicated. Because if I'm not sure, I will hurt not only her but also our family. If she were someone different I would maybe just give it a try and see where dating would take us but..."

"But she's Hermione and you can't half-arse this. You either have to be with her seriously or not at all. She's Ron's best friend and probably Ginny's too. The two of them will hex you into oblivion if you ever dare to hurt Hermione."

Fred groaned. For a moment he wished he didn't know about Hermione's feeling. Then he would be able to sit here in blissful ignorance and wouldn't need to make this decision.

"So, what will you do?"

"Didn't you listen? I have no idea! That's why I told you, I thought you could help me," Fred snapped, which he knew wasn't fair. But the knowledge about Hermione waiting for his answer was gnawing on him. He felt an intense amount of pressure on his shoulders simply by the knowledge that probably was already hurting her. The waiting hurt her. His answer might hurt her. He felt like he simply couldn't do the right thing in this situation. There was no way to do the right thing as long as his stupid heart was refusing to give him the answer he needed.

Maybe it would be the smartest to just let her down gently. Tell her that he couldn't take the risk of losing their friendship. But what if he would regret it? A not so small part of his heart loathed the idea of letting her, of not even trying.

"Well, let's get to the Burrow, have a decent meal for a change and then we will try to come up with a plan," George grinned. "You know everything gets easier when we put our brilliant minds in it together." He shoved him playfully and Fred finally felt some sort of relief. George didn't think they would make a ridiculous couple or that Hermione was too good for him. He had George in his corner and that alone was half of what he needed to hash this out.

And a family dinner now that Ginny and Ron were back for the summer was also a nice mood lifter. Fred would never admit it out loud but he had missed his younger siblings. He was so used to having them around at Hogwarts and at the Burrow. Sometimes the flat above the shop was almost too calm and silent compared to the crowded, loud and homey Burrow.

When they arrived at the Burrow a short floo travel later everyone had already gathered at the large kitchen table – well, everyone aside from Percy and Charlie, but at least the later on had a good explanation – including Bill and a glowing Fleur Delacour. Everyone was chatting but Fred instantly recognised the forced smile of his mother which usually meant she was immensely displeased with something. Ron meanwhile seemed awestruck and was staring at Fleur while nodding occasionally at everything she said. Ginny only frowned, not even trying to smile at their guest.

"Oh, good you're here," Molly jumped up from her chair and quickly gave each of them a tight hug. "Why don't you tell them the news, Bill, and I will get the food."

"What news?" George asked, not without a bit of worry in his voice and Fred knew why. Judging by Ginny's face the news was everything but good and these days that could easily mean the death of someone close and dear to them.

"Well," Bill cleared his throat, "I asked Fleur to marry me and she said yes." A happy grin spread on their eldest brother's face while he presented the ring on Fleur's hand. With a whoop both Fred and George were running around the table, hugging Bill and clapping him on the back.

"Congrats, Fleur," Fred gave his future sister-in-law a hopefully brotherly hug. On their night out with Bill a while ago he had told Fred and George how Fleur disliked being touched by foreign people who took liberties because of her Veela heritage. Fred didn't want to come across as one of them but he thought the occasion screamed for a hug. George followed his example and Fred was glad to see Fleur smile.

"Sit, let's eat," their Mum demanded as she levitated bowls and plates full of food into the room. Soon the air was filled with clattering and chatting. Fred tried his best – aided by George – to diffuse the lingering tension in the air. It was obvious that their mum wasn't so happy with the engagement, probably because it came so fast. Why Ginny was so frosty with Fleur was beyond Fred's knowledge and Ron's disability to stop himself from drooling all over Fleur was almost painful to watch. It really wasn't the relaxing dinner Fred had hoped for.

When they finally finished the small feast and their mum had excused herself to the bedroom – surely to be alone in her distress about her son marrying so quickly – Fred was more than glad to also be allowed to leave. Now George and he could finally get to their planning and scheming and decide how to proceed with Hermione.

"Fred! George!" Ron called them just as they were about to enter the floo. "Uhm, I have a question about… girls." The last word was a mere whisper and George raised a curious eyebrow at Fred. Normally that would be the moment to get the mickey out of Ron, teasing him a bit before actually helping them. But after seeing Ron mooning over Fleur for the entire evening they exchanged a glance and took pity in their brother.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"How- how do I talk to girls… No, that came out wrong. How do I flirt with them? Get them to like me?" When Ron had finished his stammering question he was beet red and Fred suppressed the urge to snicker. He knew George felt the same by the way his twin had tensed beside him.

"You could try to look devilish handsome, worked for me," Fred flashed a grin. In the end, he couldn't resist teasing Ron at least a little, tiny bit and instantly his little brother blushed even more. Probably remembering the countless times he had caught Fred with a girl in a broom closet at Hogwarts.

"Nah, that won't work for ickle Ronnie but you could try Charlie's tactic and get a bit brawnier," George snickered.

"You gits, fine if you don't want to help me-" Now Ron's face turned a different shade of red which usually meant he was about to get very, very angry and have one of the famous Weasley temper tantrums.

"You know what, we have a book somewhere at home," George cut Ron off and turned to Fred. "Remember, the one Bill got us a few years ago. Worked like a charm. We can send it to you, Ron."

"Thanks, that would be nice." Ron cooled down instantly.

"Oh, and by the way, Mum is allowing us to visit your shop when we go shopping for the next school year. I think we will come as soon as Harry and Hermione arrive. I can't wait to see it." He grinned and Fred felt a lurch of happiness and nervousness. He was happy about Ron's excitement, he was happy to see Hermione again but also so, so nervous. They really needed to make a plan. He didn't want to screw up the next meeting with Hermione.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Hermione was torn between sadness and relief when she left her parents' house to spend the last few weeks of the summer holidays at the Burrow.

Normally she would look forward to spending time with the Weasleys and Harry but this year it felt wrong to leave her family. Hermione had realised over the course of this summer how seldom she saw her parents and how strange it sometimes felt to be at home. Hogwarts had become her home too and Hermione felt that it became harder and harder to be part both of the magical and muggle world.

Especially since she had more or less lied to them. Hermione hadn't managed to tell them about the incident at the Ministry. How could she explain that without her parents worrying or maybe pulling her out of school? They wouldn't understand it. They wouldn't understand why their underaged daughter would endanger her own life to break into the Ministry with a bunch of teenagers. So, she had found excuses why she couldn't go for a swim until she had found a swimming suit and enough summer clothes to hide her scar.

The weeks with her parents had still been very nice. They had decided to have a camping trip to the forest of dean for their annual vacation together. It had been very refreshing to actually do everything themselves, without the aid of magic, and Hermione had enjoyed those quiet two weeks immensely. But still, the nagging feeling of betraying her parents by not telling them about the dangers lurking in the magical world had never left her.

And that was why Hermione also felt relieved when she finally left the house with Mr Weasley. Now she didn't have to feel guilty about keeping secrets from her parents. It was so much easier to keep things from them when she didn't have to see them. And that thought alone made her feel even more guilty and sad. When had it become so hard to keep both of the worlds she lived in together? Oh yeah, when Voldemort had returned and tried to kill her best friend.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

The grand opening of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was an even greater success than Fred and George had anticipated. The moment they had opened the doors in the morning to let the costumers in, the shop had been swamped. It seemed like almost every student at Hogwarts had decided to come and most of them brought parents and siblings.

It had been madness, but as everyone knew Fred and George strived in chaos and madness. They had spent the day with flitting trough the store to assist costumers, answering questions, and demonstrating their products. Lee had been at the till joking and laughing with the people. It had been everything they had ever dreamed of.

Now the three of them were celebrating the successful day with a firewhiskey and Oliver Wood at the Leaky Cauldron. Oliver had visited the shop as a surprise shortly before closing time and Fred and George had successfully convinced him to join them for a few drinks. It had been ages since they had seen their old Quidditch captain.

It turned out that Oliver was still a Quidditch freak, which wasn't that surprising since he played professionally now for Puddlemere United. He entertained them with stories about his games for Puddlemere and how he had made it from a reserve player to a starting member of the team.

"How's your family?" Oliver asked after a while when they were already all slightly drunk. "Haven't heard from Percy in ages. Not since he started this damned job at the Ministry."

A mighty snort escaped both Fred and George.

"Yeah, damn job-" Fred started.

"Describes it quite well-"

"The bloody git."

In their drunken state, it took a moment to explain what had happened between Percy and their family almost a year ago but in the end, Oliver looked as displeased as Fred felt when he thought about their elder brother. The news about Voldies return was out since a while now, even the Prophet and the Ministry had admitted that Harry and Dumbledore had been right from the beginning, and Fudge was no longer Minister. And still, Percy hadn't even lifted a finger to reach out to his family… It made Fred even more furious.

"Don't worry, he'll come around," Oliver muttered into his glass. "Percy always needs a bit of time before he can accept that he was wrong. We had some blazing fights in our dorm room and whenever I was right he ignored me for days or weeks until he was ready to admit it. We actually… we had a pretty ugly fight right before we finished school. I hadn't thought it would take him so long this time but he's still ignoring me… But I'm patient and I will wait until Percy is ready to accept it. I'm sure one day the penny will drop," Oliver joked, his Scottish accent now even thicker thanks to the alcohol.

"Well then, let's drink to Percy having an epiphany," Fred raised his glass.

"To Percy's epiphany!" George, Lee and Oliver declared and downed the next round of whiskey. After that Fred didn't remember much. Only that it was a glorious night crowning the glorious day they had had. The next morning however he certainly regretted going out for drinks as he and George opened the shop for another day filled with madness, jokes and costumers.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Fred felt frozen in place when he spotted her bouncy curls beside Harry somewhere around the isle with the Daydream Charms. Merlin, he couldn't even fully see her and still his heart was beating up a storm and his hands began to sweat. That would do no good. He took a calming breath, then another, and reminded himself of the plan.

_Approach her, be charming, be cool. Find a good moment to ask her about…_ All thoughts left his mind when she turned slightly. She had a black eye! An angry bile formed in his stomach and it took all of Fred's self-control not to storm over to her and demand to know who did this. Apart from the eye, she seemed to be in a good mood and Harry too didn't seem concerned.

_Okay, little delay of plans_ , Fred decided. Quickly he made his way back to the storage room and searched for the right box.

A slow grin spread on his face as he made his way back to Harry and Hermione. They were still in front of the Daydream Charms but now Hermione was admiring one of the small, purple boxes.

"You know, that really is extraordinary magic," Hermione said to Harry right as Fred rounded the corner. He thought his heart – and maybe his ego too – were swelling with pride as getting such a compliment from Hermione. He knew that she had a certain respect for their products but hearing her so freely calling it extraordinary was something really special,

"For that, Hermione, you can have one for free," Fred winked and made a show of shaking Harry's hand. "And what's happened to your eye, Hermione?"

"Your punching telescope," she said ruefully with a little glint in her eye.

"Oh blimey, I forgot about those." Fred tried not to grin. Not because he thought it funny that Hermione had been punched by the telescope but because he knew quite well that they had hidden the bloody things away safely in their room. It meant Hermione had snooped around and that was something really amusing to think about.

"Here," with a grand gesture, he pulled the little tube out of his pocket that he had gotten from the back room. "Just dab it on, that bruise will be gone within the hour. We had to find a decent bruise-remover; we're testing most of our products on ourselves." He threw a wink at Hermione at the last words, hoping she would remember their little brewing and testing session in the hidden room months ago.

"It is safe, isn't it?" Hermione asked her voice something between nervousness and teasing. He wasn't sure if the nervousness was about the cream or about him… He wanted to believe it was about him.

_Merlin, get your bloody mind together and be brave. She said she likes you, why are you behaving like an idiot?_  A voice that sounded a bit like George sounded through his mind.

_Okay, phase two of the plan. Separate Hermione from Harry and your ickle little brother so you can talk to her in private._  Masterfully Fred directed Harry away from Hermione to give him a tour through the shop. Honestly, he would have done that anyway. Harry had been their first – and so far only – investor and they had to thank him for that forever.

Fred through George a wink when his twin subtly took over the tour and directed Harry somewhere without him even noticing that Fred was no longer with them. A quick glance through the shop told Fred that Ron was at the other end – far, far away from Hermione – admiring some products with their father and his arms already full of products.

It was easy to spot Hermione since she was unfortunately with Ginny, whose bright red hair was like a guiding light. Fred cursed under his breath but then decided that Ginny just needed a good distraction.

"Haven't you girls found our special WonderWitch products yet?" He appeared behind them and guided both girls to the bright pink shelves. There was already a cluster of excited girls looking around and Fred grinned at the estimated profit they would make today. And at the opportunity to get rid of Ginny, who certainly would find the little Pygmy Puffs adorable.

Enthusiastically Fred showed Hermione and Ginny the love potions and the pimple vanisher, bickered with Ginny a bit about her boyfriends, and then – finally – when his mother appeared and Ginny tried to argue with her about getting a Pygmy Puff, he used his chance.

As fast and gentle as possible he pulled Hermione down a few isles and through a hidden door in one of the shelves. It was the second entrance to one of the backrooms and a safety precaution to escape in an emergency. Bill had been adamant that they needed one. And today it was a way to escape his way too noisy family.

"Hi," Fred smiled brightly at a very confused Hermione. "How are you?"

"Good, thanks." Hermione's confused frown deepened. "Oh, thanks for the cream, I think it's already working." She handed him the small tube back. "And thanks for the Daydream Charm."

"No problem, enjoy and maybe give me a review?" He winked and Hermione nodded but the mood was still a bit awkward. Hermione's face showed more and more confusion.

_Okay, do it now or you will fuck it up!_ The little George in his head screamed and Fred took a final calming breath.

"Sorry for dragging you here so suddenly," he raked a hand through his hair. Shit, he was nervous.

"I thought it was about time I gave you an answer and I wanted a bit of privacy for that." He could see the exact moment Hermione's mind started to race by the way her body stiffened and her jaw locked. There was a vulnerable look in her eyes.

"Hermione," he took her hands. "Stop thinking the worst is happening, okay? If I wanted to reject you I would have done it months ago."

"Okay," she relaxed a bit.

"Well, you know I'm still terribly afraid of hurting you and destroying the friendship we have when we take this further but on the other hand, I will also hurt both of us if we don't even try… So, I thought we- I would love to write you letters. And maybe go on a date with you at Hogsmeade, if we get the chance. So that we can get to know each other better. I would love to get to know you better before we jump right into it. Is that okay?"

"It sounds lovely," Hermione smiled gently. "But be aware Fred, I will make you fall in love with me."

"Deal." Fred grinned, his heart skipping a beat at Hermione's cheeky tone and the glint in her eyes. Merlin, he really hoped he made the right decision. He wanted this to work. He wanted to overcome whatever nagging feeling was holding him back and to properly fall in love with her. Because there was a part of his heart that was screaming at him that she could be  _the one_  and if he wouldn't take this chance, then she would be forever his  _What If_  instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the wonderful feeling when you a notification about an update for a story you like? Well, then leave a review because that notification makes the author equally happy :) So, leave me and every other author you like some sugar.


	28. You've Got Owl Post

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovelies, again I'm proud to publish in time. This week the chapter will be a bit shorter. I had to make some decision at work and about work and it got me into serious overthinking for a while which left me little time to write. But I promise I will try everything to write you all an extra-long chapter in two weeks as a compensation (I promise to try, I can't promise I will manage^^). So, I hope you enjoy it and will forgive me. But I thought publishing at least a short chapter is better than publishing nothing at all and keep you hanging.

The letter arrived announced by a loud shrieking owl on the second day after school had started again. No one paid any real attention as the owl dropped the letter and a medium-sized box in front of Hermione, who quickly put her book away. Carefully she placed the box in her lap to make space on the breakfast table and opened the letter. Hermione's heart skipped a little happy beat from looking at Fred's messy but beautiful handwriting.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I hope you arrived safely back at Hogwarts. I know, I know, you will miss our jokes and pranks terribly since they're such extraordinary magic. Therefore I took the freedom to send you a selected range of our best products. I hope you enjoy them!_

Hermione had to stifle her laughter as she slowly opened the package and uncovered the typical, brightly coloured wrapping from WWW. She tried not to draw too much attention to herself since she wasn't ready to answer noisy questions from everyone about why Fred Weasley was sending her a letter and a package with products. They hadn't talked if they wanted to tell people that... well, there was nothing to tell yet. And that's why Hermione preferred to keep it a secret for a while.

She threw a quick glance into the box and surely Fred had sent her all kind of stuff. Hermione first discovered the  _Patented Daydream Charms_ , which she had praised as  _extraordinary_  not long ago. She stifled another giggle at the memory and now getting why he had phrased his letter like that. Then there was a box of  _Canary Creams_ , a  _Weather in a Bottle_  and  _Skiving Snackboxes_. The later one was something she would surely never use but it reminded her of their shared brewing session so many months ago and that alone made her smile again. She hoped Fred had sent it to remind her of this day and didn't actually think she would use them. Hermione Granger would never skive of class! The rest of the box was filled with her favourite chocolates from Honeydukes and cat treats for Crookshanks.

_I know, now that you're back at Hogwarts you will surely spend too much time helping Ron and Harry with their homework. The chocolate is for soothing your poor nerves when they get exhausting. The Canary Creams are for when they get annoying. And the Skiving Snackbox, well I know you will never use it for escaping lessons but may I suggest using them when Ron is not only exhausting and annoying but also a right git? Experience tells me that he pisses you off at least once a year and since I'm not there to prank some sense into him… Well, I'm perfectly sure you can deal with Ron yourself but now you have a little bit of inspiration._

_The cat treats are for Crooks and tell him they are from me. I want to get on the good side of the little beast._

Hermione rolled her eyes at that. Crooks was a perfectly fine cat and not a beast. He just preferred to be around women which he showed with cuddling with most of the girls in the dorm but lashing out again most of the boys. Harry and Neville - and sometimes Ron - were rare exceptions from that rule.

_Okay, I think I'm rambling. I only wanted to write to you to wish you a wonderful start into the new school year._

_Hoping to hear from you soon,_

_Fred_

_PS: Mum just floo-called and told us that a guy named Slughorn is teaching Potions this year? Should I send some fireworks to celebrate a Snape free school? I bet Harry did a little happy dance, please tell me he did. And that Collin made a photo which you will send me so George and I can decorate the shop with it. We could use it as an advertisement for a product! 'Want to be as happy as the Chosen One? - Try Weasleys' Instant Happiness!'! Well, the name could use some work but the idea... well, now I'm really rambling. Send me this picture._

"Hermione, what are you giggling about?" Ron asked from the opposite of her where he and Harry had been deep into some kind of Quidditch related discussion. And of course, they emerged from that just in time to ruin her little, happy moment.

"Just a letter from my parents and a few gifts for my birthday. They're going on vacation over my birthday and had to send it sooner," Hermione lied smoothly. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. Her parents were going on a vacation and had already sent her the gift. But it had arrived yesterday morning and neither Ron nor Harry had realised it.

"And what kind of interesting things your  _mother_ send you," Ginny peered into the box, chuckling a bit.

"What did she send?" Ron tried to get a sneak but Ginny brushed him off easily.

"Don't you think that's rather rude? You should at least ask Hermione first, maybe she doesn't want you to look." Ginny scolded while Hermione used the chance to quickly store the letter inside the package, which she sealed with a small charm.

"You looked without asking!"

"But I'm a girl. Hermione doesn't mind if I see something that might be personal or intimate," the way Ginny pronounced the words suggested clearly that Hermione's  _mother_  had sent her something  _girly_ , which was always something that made Ron nervous and he instantly blushed. Of course Ginny knew about the new deal Hermione and Fred had made in the backroom of the store weeks ago so she was a wonderful ally for these kinds of situations.

Ginny had also been the one that had suggested not to write Fred first. Well, maybe she had even threatened Hermione a little bit with one of her hexes.

_"This time it needs to be him who makes the first step. You confessed, you waited far too long. He suggested it and now he needs to write first."_

Hermione had found it childish to play such games since Fred already knew about her feelings. She didn't really have the option of playing hard to get. In the end, she had been afraid of appearing clingy and so she had followed Ginny's advice. But Hermione was more than happy that she didn't have to wait long. Of course, Fred had written while she stayed at the Burrow, she had already guessed that, so it hadn't been hard to wait there. But if he had waited for more than a week or two of her being in Hogwarts, she would have been worried. All the more happy she was now looking at the package in her lap, knowing about the letter inside.

Hermione smiled again, ignoring the bickering sibling at the table, and stood up.

"Well, I think I will go to the library before classes to answer them. I want to thank my parents soon for those wonderful gifts."

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

_Dear Fred,_

_Thank you for the box and the interesting assortment of products._

_First I should mention how impressed I am that you managed to get the box inside via owl at all. As you probably know – you have to know since you prepared the box – Filch is searching owl post and students for your products. It's not as bad as it was during Umbridge's reign but Filch is like a hound, trying to sniff everything out. And he manages to catch quite a few people. So, I really am impressed even though as a prefect I don't want to know how you did it. Let me live in innocent bliss._

_But I have to admit that I'm not sure if my inner prefect will allow me to use any of the more joke related products… Maybe I should sell them instead on the striving new black market? I heard that Canary Creams have tripled in worth since Filch found a large batch with Colin and Justin. But the chocolate will surely be very helpful as soon as Ron and Harry start to with their Quidditch training._

_Did you hear? Harry is captain this year; Dumbledore lifted the stupid Quidditch ban. Ron and Ginny both want to try out for the team again this year. Ginny as a chaser this time. I'm sure they both get into the team if Ron just keeps his cool. Unfortunately the show-off McLaggen is running around and telling everyone that he will be the new Gryffindor keeper and it makes Ron nervous even though the try-outs are only in a few days. Maybe I will use one of your products on McLaggen? He would deserve it._

_Well, in any case, I expect it will become very difficult to motivate Harry and Ron to do their homework when they're both on the team._

_Well, I wish I could send you a happy dance picture of Harry but… Well, Snape is the new DADA professor. And sadly that makes both Harry and Snape even more vicious against each other. Since Harry is actually very good at Defence Snape has a hard time humiliating him but it seems like he only puts more effort into it. Which of course leads to Harry talking back even more. During the first lesson this week Harry and Snape had one of their usual fights and when Snape reminded Harry to call him sir, it didn't end well. Snape repeated something Harry said in his usual sarcastic way and added a sir to remind Harry of the correct way to address a professor and well… Harry said 'There's no need to call me sir! Of course, Harry has a detention this weekend. But I think I never saw Neville so impressed and happy at the same time._

_Luckily the new potions professor Slughorn is actually a good teacher, maybe a bit eccentric and he also has favourites but at least he's not downright mean to anyone. He showed us some very interesting potions during the first lesson, among them Amortentia and Felix Felicis. And he taught us how to brew the draught of the living death, which was fascinating but the real surprise was that Harry managed to do it perfectly and even won a bottle of Felix Felicis. But I also did fairly well and now Professor Slughorn invited me to his little Slug Club (it sounds creepy, I know) which apparently is a meeting for students Professor Slughorn sees potential in. Harry and Ginny are also invited so at least it should be fun to go with them._

_I was really happy about your last letter and I hope to hear from you soon._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Hermione_

_PS: Crooks didn't want the treats after I told them they're from you. Seems like you have a lot of work ahead of you with him._

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

"Stop behaving so creepy," George tossed a sofa cushion against Fred's head. "You look like a bloody lovesick idiot staring at her letter like this. Write her back, you fool."

"Already done." Fred tied his letter to Hedwig's leg, who had delivered Hermione's response. She had probably asked Harry to use his owl since they were never enough school owls in Hogwarts at the beginning of the term when all of those icky, homesick firsties wanted to write to their parents. And of course, the students could now use the owls to order fresh Weasley products. Which was necessary when Filch was so keen on confiscating them again. Well, they would find ways to get their products inside the school. Sending Hermione this box had actually been some kind of test run.

"Wonderful," George rolled his eyes. "Does that mean I now have to endure you waiting for her answer? I swear, I will hex you if you start to stare longingly out of the window while-"

"Nope," Fred tossed the cushion right back. "The mooning and sighing and longing is more your thing."

"Ow! Low blow," George snickered as they both made themselves comfortable on the bright, purple sofa.

Living in the flat was so much better and easier now that they were fully furnished and the chaos of the first weeks after opening the shop had ebbed down a bit. Since all the children were back to school again their main business was through owl orders and these were so much better manageable than having a shop full of people. The only thing that always came short was buying groceries and cooking.

Fred and George were both fairly good cooks if they had a good recipe. The problem was that they both treated cooking like experimenting and that often resulted in terrible dishes. But through trial and error, they had also developed some really amazing recipes, they only lacked time to buy ingredients. So they often ended up with ordering take-out or going out to eat. This evening too they had decided to take something home from this amazing muggle place right outside of Diagon Alley. It served the best noodles they had ever had and an amazing dish called pizza, which came with countless variations of toppings.

"Hermione wrote that the box with our products made it through Filch's searching," Fred reported as he grabbed a piece of pizza. It was his favourite one with hot sausage, bell peppers, and extra cheese.

"Perfect, that means I can send the first round of owl orders out tomorrow."

They lazed around in their living room for the remainder of the evening, relaxing from a busy day of producing products and restocking the shelves. While George was busy with reading a book about charms for their next product idea - oh, the people would be shocked to see them actually researching - Fred pulled Hermione's letter out again to skim over the words.

He was a bit sad that he couldn't be at Hogwarts this year. It felt kind of odd to not be part of the chaos, the excitement, and everything else. Reading about Harry, Ron and Ginny all probably playing on the Quidditch team together made him want to be there too.

Fred grinned as he read again about Hermione suggesting to prank McLaggen - Fred remembered the guy and he was a terrible show-off - or selling the products on the black market. He knew Hermione would never do one of those things, she was too nice. Okay, now that wasn't the right word. Hermione could be downright scary when she needed to. But most times she was really proper and only broke the rules if necessary. And Fred thought that maybe they weren't so different after all. He also only broke the rules if necessary. It was only their definition of necessary that differed slightly.

His heart skipped a beat again when he read the part about Amortentia. Fred wondered what Hermione smelled. She had told him she was in love with him but that didn't mean she also smelled something that represented him, right? Merlin, why did he have to overthink this so much? She had said she liked him, he said he wanted to write a letter and get to know each other better. He should concentrate on that inside of questioning everything all over again. George and he had discussed it lengthily and the outcome was the same every time: he liked her and this was worth going for it.

"What are you doing?" George asked drowsily when Fred suddenly jumped up.

"I'm going to create a cat treat that even that little beast can't withstand," he declared with a grin. Fred only heard an annoyed groan from his twin shortly as an answer and then made his way to the workroom.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

_My, my Hermione,_

_That does sound like a lot is going on this year in Hogwarts. New professor, even though that's not surprising, but Snape as DADA professor? Seems like Dumbles finally ran out of idiots who wanted the job. Want to make a bet on how long Snape will have the job? After the experience of the last few years, I bet a galleon that Harry will be the reason he loses the job. And maybe then we will get a little happy dance?_

_Slug club… that really sounds a bit fishy, to be honest. Don't tell me he came up with the name by himself? I would have chosen something more creative and, more importantly, something more flattering. How did Ginny manage to get an invitation to this? Harry I get, he's the chosen one and everything. And you're simply bloody brilliant! But as far as I know, Ginny is maybe a fairly good student but takes more after George and I. Is Slughorn also collecting troublemakers? Maybe I should introduce myself then._

_I'm glad you liked our products and the chocolates. Just write to me if you run out before the first Hogsmeade weekend and I will fill up your stores. A girl can never have too much chocolate, right? Especially a girl who studies as much as you do. By the way, do you already know when the first Hogsmeade weekend will be? I might come around if you want me to…_

Hermione thought her heart would stop at those words. Bloody idiot, did he actually think she would say no? Of course, she wanted him to come to Hogsmeade.

_Well, I hope you can overcome your inner prefect and actually prank the hell out of McLaggen. I remember the git – excuse my language – and even though I'm always on board with taking the mickey out of Ron I don't remember giving McLaggen permission to do so. You have my blessing to sabotage the guy as much as you want to. And tell me about it later!_

_And if you want to sell our products on the black market, well, I would gladly employ you as our unofficial Hogwarts dealer. What better camouflage than having a THE prefect on our side?_

_Hoping to lure you into pranking and mischief,_

_Fred_

_PS: I'm working on a special treat for Crookshanks. He will have no other choice than to love me._

With a little happy smile, Hermione carefully stored the letter away and made her way to the Quidditch pitch. The letter had already arrived two days ago but she thought it would be best to write Fred after the try-outs. Then she could hopefully write to him the good news about two of his sibling making it into the team. The prank products she left in her dorm. The urge to actually use them on McLaggen had been strong in the last few days and she didn't want to temp herself.

"Hello Hermione, Hello Neville, wonderful morning, isn't it?" Luna greeted Hermione and Neville as they arrived in the stands. It seemed like the majority of Gryffindor house was trying out for the team this year so Neville and Hermione had decided to enjoy the spectacle from the stands. And of course to cheer for Ron and Ginny.

Curiously Hermione eyed the full stadium. There seemed the be more people in there than Gryffindor house even had. And sure enough, just after five minutes of starting Harry had to send a group of students from other houses away.

"Oh my," Neville sighed. "Seems like most of them are here to get a look of Harry and not for the team. He will have a hard time." And Neville's assumption was right, as it became clear during the morning.

Most of the students were unconcentrated, giggled and talked the whole time, and tried to get Harry's attention. It was a mess and Neville had to stop Hermione a few times from storming down there and yell at them. But she knew it wouldn't help Harry's authority if she intervened.

When finally the annoying ones were sorted out and send away the try-outs got serious. It took the most of the morning to get through all the practice trials but one after one Harry decided who to set on which position. Of course, Ginny was soon set as a chaser, along with Katie and Dean. Hermione knew her friend was a fierce player and flyer and she wasn't surprised that Ginny didn't show any nerves.

The keeper try-outs came last and Hermione cursed as she saw how pale Ron was. The chaos of the day and the many people in the stand, who were watching and cheering, made him even more nervous. Merlin, she would never understand why he wanted to be on the team so badly if he was so nervous and uncomfortable about it.

But to everyone's surprise, Ron did better as his nervousness suggested. He actually was the best keeper so far. And then it was Cormac McLaggen's turn.

Hermione's frown was etched deep into her face as she watched how McLaggen mounted his broom and flew a special round through the pitch to show off. And with rising horror, she watched how he managed to hold the shots easily, even though Ginny tried everything to shot as difficult and hard as possible.

Her heart almost stopped when McLaggen held the fourth shot and grinned confidently. He even had the nerve to throw a wink in the direction of the stands. Hermione shuddered and on a whim, she grabbed her wand. The confundus spell left her lips so softly that it was barely hearable and a moment later McLaggen missed the Quaffle spectacularly by flying to the opposite direction.

With a satisfied grin, Hermione watched how Ron was announced as the new keeper of the Gryffindor team and Harry almost glowed with happiness. She couldn't wait to write to Fred about it. She hadn't done it to impress Fred but his idea of sabotaging McLaggen had stayed in her head ever since she had first read the letter.

**OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO OOO**

Fred let out a booming laugh. She had hexed McLaggen! She actually had confuded the git and helped Ron to get on the team. With a proud grin, he handed the letter to George and showed him the paragraph where Hermione described the try-outs.

"Merlin's saggy balls," he groaned in playful annoyance. "Do me a favour and just marry the girl. She's obviously perfect."

"Yes, she might be," he admitted and read the last line again.

_I would love for you to visit me at Hogsmeade._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know the wonderful feeling when you a notification about an update for a story you like? Well, then leave a review because that notification makes the author equally happy :) So, leave me and every other author you like some sugar.


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